
Class Jll_LO,S5_ 
GopiglitN" 



COPIRIGHr DEPOSIr. 



2!_ 



A GENERAL HISTORY 

OF THE 

CHRISTIAN ERA 

IN TWO VOLUMES 

Volume One 
From the Beginning to the So-called Reformation (1-1517) 



A Textbook for High Schools and Colleges 



BY 

NICHOLAS A. WEBER, S.M., S.T.D. 

Associate Professor of History at the Catholic University of America and 
Professor of History at Trinity College 



With an Introduction hy Right Reverend Thomas J. Shahan, D. D. 

Rector of the Catholic University of America and President 

of the Catholic Educational Association 

1919 

The Catholic Education Press 

Washington, D. C. 



i^ijjil Dbsitat: 



JBtifjil obsitat: 



imprimatur: 



j]io3 
•W35 



H. DE LA CHAPELLE, 

Provincialis, S. M. 



T. E. SHIELDS, 

Censor Lihrorum Depntatus 



*« JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS. 



Copyright, 1919, by Nicholas A. Weber. 



NOV 20 ISIS 



©C(.A5;j60Jil 



^ ., I 



Wf}t beboteb ant &M=9iamtitinq tEeacJjers; 

of 

the High Schools, Academies and Colleges 

Affiliated with the Catholic University of America 

^fjis; Mook 
in regpectfuUp bebicateb. 



PREFACE 

This book is intended to serve as a textbook for Catholic 
high schools and colleges. Although the complete work was 
planned and is to be published in two volumes, the part here 
given to the public is so arranged as to form a book that can 
be used independently of the second volume. 

In writing this General History the author has aimed to 
present a continuous and concise survey of the essential 
facts of the Christian era. In order to enable the teacher 
and student to complete the information given in the text, a 
general bibliography has been placed at the beginning of the 
book and a special bibliography appended to each chapter. 
It has not been deemed advisable to mention authorities in 
foreign languages, although the writer wishes to acknowledge 
here his indebtedness to some French and German works, 
particularly to the admirable Histoire Generate of Lavisse 
and Rambaud. 

It is a pleasing duty for him to express his thanks to the 
Very Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Shields at whose suggestion and 
with whose encouragement the book was prepared, to the 
Right Reverend Thomas J. Shahan, D. D., for the kindly 
interest which, in spite of his many duties as Rector of the 
Catholic University, he has always taken in the progress of the 
work, to Professor W. R. Shepherd of Columbia University 
for his generous permission to reproduce maps from his 
valuable Historical Atlas, to Miss Helen Wright and Miss M. 
Elmira Bier of the Division of Prints of the Library of 
Congress for their repeated courtesies and services, and 
to other kind friends for generous help and valuable sugges- 
tions. 

Nicholas A. Weber. 

Washington, D. C. 
On the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel 
July 16, 1919 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction xxix 

General Bibliography xxxii 

Introductory Questions 3 

Definition of History 3 

Division of the History of the Christian Era 4 

Bibliography 5 

FIRST PERIOD, 1 TO 476 

Chapter I 

The Christian Religion and the Roman World to the Year 476 

I. Jesus Christ; the Christian Religion 

Preparation of the World for the Coming of Christ 7 

Jesus Christ is Born at Bethlehem 8 

Jesus rises from the Dead ; His Doctrine ... 9 

Pentecost and the Spread of the Christian Religion 1 

Saint Peter and Saint Patil 11 

II. State of the World at the Introduction of the Chris- 

tian ReHgion. 
Estabhshment of the Roman Empire by Augustus 

31B. C 12 

The City of Rome under Augustus 13 

The Provinces under Augustus 14 

Religion in Rome at the Beginning of Christianity 14 

III. Conflict between Christianity and the Roman State 

The Persecutions of the Christians; Their General 

Cause, Number and Division 15 

The Persecution under Nero (64-68) 16 

The Persecution under Decius (249-251) ... 17 

The Persecution under Diocletian (303-305) . . 18 

IV. End of the Conflict: Constantine grants Freedom 

to the Churcli (313) 
Constantine and t lie Battle of the IMilvian Bridge 

(Oct. 312) 19 

The Edict of Milan (313) 20 

ix 



X THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

V. Church and State from 313 to 476 

The ReHgious Policy of Constant ine after 313 . 21 

Const antine and Licinius 22 

Arianism; the Council of Nice (325) 22 

Julian the Apostate (361-363) and his Attempt at 

a Pagan Restoration 23 

Julian's Opposition to Christianity 24 

Theodosius I, the Great 379-395; Christianity be- 
comes the State Religion 24 

Power of the Catholic Clergy — Penance of Theodo- 
sius 25 

Ecclesiastical Organization • . . . 26 

Bibliography 27 

Chapter II 

The Emperors from Tiberius to Commodus (14-192). Their 
Internal Administration 

Introduction 

The Dynasties of the First Two Centuries 28 

I. The Julian Dynasty 

Tiberius,(14-37) 29 

The Emperors Caligula (3 7-4 1 ) and Claudius (41-54) 30 

Nero (54-68) 31 

II. The Flavian Emperors (69-96) 

Vespasian (69-79) 32 

Titus (79-81) 33 

Domitian (81-96) 33 

III. The Antonines (96-192) 

Name and Rule of the Antonines ; Nerva (96-98) 34 

Trajan (98-117) 34 

Hadrian (117-138) 35 

Antoninus Pius (138-161) 36 

Marcus AureHus (161-180) 36 

Commodu^^ (180-192) 37 

Bibliography 37 



CONTENTS XI 

Chapter III 

The Emperors, Their Power and Internal Administration 

(193-476) 

I. The Barrack Emperors (193-284) 

Septimius Severus (193-211) 38 

Caracalla (211-217) 39 

Aurelian (270-275) 39 

II. The Absolute Monarchy estabHshed by Diocletian. 

Diocletian (284-305); the Absolute Monarchy; 

Division of the Empire 40 

Civil Administration; Increase in the Number of 

Officials 41 

Diocletian's Character and Abdication 42 

III. The Founding of Constantinople; Organization and 

Division of the Empire. 
Constantine founds Constantinople or New 

Rome on the Bosphorus (330) 42 

The Emperor's Absolute Power 43 

The Division of the Empire into Eastern and 

Western (395) 44 

BibHography 44 

Chapter IV 
Defense of the Empire; The Migration of Nations 

I. Wars on the Rhine and the Danube. 

The Frontiers of the Empire . 45 

Wars on the Rhine 45 

Wars on the Upper Danube 46 

Wars on the Lower Danube 46 

II. Wars in the East. 

Wars against the Parthians 48 

War against the Jews (67-70) Siege and Capture 
of Jerusalem 48 

III. Wars in Britain. 

Britain and the Julian Emperors 50 

Julius Agricola in Britain 50 



Xll THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

IV. Migration of Nations ; Fall of the Empire. 

Emigration into the Empire 51 

Character of the#Armed Invasions 52 

Causes of the Invasions 53 

The Visigoths cross the Danube and later found 

an Independent Kingdom in France and Spain 53 
Conquests made by other German Tribes in the 

Western Empire 54 

Attila and the Invasion of the Huns 55 

Odoacer and the Fall of the Western Empire (476) 56 

Bibliography 57 

Chapter V 
Roman Life and Civilization during the Early Centuries 

I. Classes and Customs of Roman Society. 

The Senatorial Order 58 

The Equestrian Class 58 

The Plebeian Order 59 

Slavery 59 

The Workday of a Roman 59 

II. Education in Rome. 

A Roman School-Day 60 

Subjects of Study; Social Position of the Teacher 61 

The Roman State and Education 62 

III. Public Amusements and Social Conditions. 

Public Holidays; The Gladiatorial Combats . . 63 

Combats of Wild Beasts; Naval Battles .... 64 

Political and Family Life; Social Conditions . . 64 

Moral Life 65 

IV. Roman Law and Art. 

Roman Law 65 

Roman Art 66 

Bibliography •. 67 



CONTENTS XIU 

SECOND PERIOD 

THE MIDDLE AGES (476 1517) 

Introduction. 

The Chief Factors in Medieval Civilization 69 

Principal Theatre of Events 70 

FIRST EPOCH 

From the Fall oj the Western Empire to its Restoration 
under Charlemagne 

Chapter VI 

Italy from 476 to 800 

I. The Kingdom of Odoacer; the Ostrogoths. 

The Kingdom of Odoacer (476-493) 72 

Theodoric the Great (493-526) ; the Kingdom of 
the Ostrogoths in Italy (493-555) 72 

II. Byzantine Rule in Italy; The Lombards. 

Justinian I the Great (527-565) 74 

Byzantine Rule in Italy 74 

The Kingdom of the Longobards or Lombards 

(568-774). 75 

Bibliography 76 

Chapter VII 

The British Isles to 800 

I. England. 

The Invasions of the Angles and Saxons ... 77 

The Heptarchy or Seven Kingdoms 78 

The Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons 78 

Ecclesiastical Affairs among the Britons .... 79 

II. Ireland. 

Ireland and Her Inhabitants 80 

The Conversion of Ireland ; St. Patrick (c. 372-493) 81 
Bibliography d>Z 



XIV T?IE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Chapter VIII 
The Franks to 800 

I. The Prankish Kingdom under the Merovingians. 

The Franks before Clovis 84 

Clovis defeats Syagrius (486) and conquers the 

Alemanni ; His Conversion (496) 84 

Clovis' Victory over the Visigoths (507) .... 85 
Clovis made a Roman Patrician; His Character. 86 
The Prankish Empire under Clovis' Successors 

from 511 to 638 86 

The Prankish Empire under the Do-Nothing 

Kings (638-751) 87 

Pippin the Short assumes the Royal Title and 

puts an End to the Merovingian Dynasty 

(751) 88 

II. The Prankish Empire under the Early Carolingians 

(751-800). 

The Reign of Pippin the vShort (751-768) .... 89 

The Accession of Charlemagne; His Dominions. . 90 

War in Italy (773-774) 90 

War in Spain 91 

Wars against the Saxons (772-804) 91 

Wars against the Avars and the Slavs ; the Begin- 
nings of Austria 93 

The Restoration of the Empire in the West; 
Charlemagne is crowned Emperor by Pope Leo 

III (800) 93 

Meaning of this Coronation ; Papacy and Empire 94 

Bibliography 95 

Chapter IX 
Organization and Social Conditions in the Prankish State 

I. Organization of the Government. 

Character of the Kingship ' . . 96 

Royal Power and Residence 96 



CONTENTS XV 

Administrative Divisions 97 

Revenues of the Royal Treasury 98 

The Army {qq 

The Administration of Justice 100 

Penalties ; Laws in Use 101 

II. Distribution of Land ; Classes of Persons ; Culture and 
Education. 

Distribution of Land 102 

Classes of Persons 103 

Culture under the Merovingians 104 

Education and Art under Charlemagne . . . .104 

Bibliography 105 

Chapter X 

Mohammed and Mohammedanism 

I. Mohammed and His Religion. 

The Arabs at the Coming of Mohammed . . . .106 
Lifeof Mohammed (ab. 570-632) ; theHegira (622) 107 

Mohammed's Character 108 

Mohammed's Religion 109 

II. Mohammedan Conquests and Civilization. 

Mohammedan Conquests in Asia and Africa . . 110 

Mohammedan Advance into Europe 110 

Causes of the Rapid Spread of Islamism . . . .111 
Causes of the Political Disruption of the Moham- 
medan Dominions HI 

Arab CiviHzation; The Sciences 112 

Arab Letters and Art 112 

Industry and Commerce 113 

Bibliography 114 

Chapter XI 
The Church from 476 • to 800 
I. The Papacy. 

The Spiritual Power of the Popes 115 



XVI 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



The Temporal Power of the Popes 116 

St. Gregory I, the Great (590-604) 116 

II. Monastieism, 

The Meaning of Monasticism 117 

St. Benedict (490-543) and Monastic Life in the 
West 118 

III. Irish and Anglo-Saxon Monks; the Conversion of 

the Germans. 

Missionary Labors of Irish Monks 119 

St. Boniface, Missionary, Organizer and Reformer 

(ab. 680-755) 120 

Bibliography 122 

SECOND EPOCH 

From the Coronation of Charlemagne to the End oj the Crusades 
(800-1270) 

General Statement 123 

Chapter XII 

The Empire of Charlemagne and Its Disruption 

General Character of the Empire of Charlemagne . . .124 

Louis the Pious (814-840) 125 

The Treaty of Verdun (843) 126 

The Absence of Internal Cohesion in the Empire . . . 127 

New Invasions 128 

The End of the Carolingians 130 

Bibliography 130 

Chapter XIII 

Germany: Popes and Emperors 

I. Emperors of the Saxon Dynasty. 

The Beginning of the Saxon Dynasty in Germany. 131 
Otto I the Great (936-973) ; His Internal Policy. . 132 
Otto's External Policy; Expeditions to Italy. . .132 



CONTENTS XVll 

General Results of the Imperial Expeditions to 

Italy 134 

The Last Emperors of the vSaxon Dynasty . . . .134 

II. The Franconian or vSalian Emperors (1024-1125). 

The Investiture Quarrel 
Accession of the Franconian Dynasty : Some Lead- 
ing Events in its History 135 

Meaning of Investiture 136 

Consequences of Lay Investiture 136 

The Monks of Cluny; Import of the Investiture 

Quarrel 137 

The Two Leading Personages in the Investiture 
Contest : Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry 

IV 138 

The Beginning of the Investiture Quarrel. ... 139 

The Meeting at Canossa 140 

New Excommunication of the King; Deposition 

of the Pope ; Appointment of an Antipope ... 142 
The Normans in Rome; Gregory's Death at 

Salerno (May 25, 1085) 143 

The Investiture-Contest after Gregory's Death; 
Its Settlement in the Concordat of Worms 
(1122) : 143 

III. The Suabian or Hohenstaufen Emperors (1138- 

1254). Renewed Struggle between the Papacy 

and the Empire. 
The New Dynasty and the Period during which 

it reigned 145 

Frederic I Barbarossa (1152-1190) 146 

Frederic Barbarossa's First Expedition to Italy . 147 
New Expedition to Italy; the Lombard League 

(1167); Battle of Legnano (1176); Treaty of 

Venice (1177) and of Constance (1183) ... 149 

Frederic Barbarossa and Germany 150 

Henry VI (1190-1197); The Hohenstaufen and 

Lower Italy 151 

Frederic II; His Character and Policy 152 



XVlll THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Frederic II and the Papacy; Extinction of the 

Hohenstaufen Dynast}^ 153 

Bibliography 155 

Chapter XIV 

France under the Capetian Dynasty from 987 to 1270 

Hugh Capet (987-996) ; The Condition of France and the 

Kingship at his Accession 156 

King Louis VII (1137-1180); Eleanor of Aquitaine; Be- 
ginning of the Rivalry between the Capetians and the 

Plantagenets 157 

Philip II Augustus (1180-1223) 158 

Coalition against Philip Augustus; The Battle of Bou- 

vines (1214) 160 

The Crusade against the Albigenses and the Growth of 

the Royal Power in the South of France 160 

Louis IX, The Saint (1226-1270); His Character ... 161 

Louis IX's Foreign Policy 163 

His Home Policy 164 

Bibliography 164 

Chapter XV 
England from 800 to 1270 

I. England from 800-1154; Anglo-Saxon, Danish and 
Norman Kings. 

Egbert unites under his rule the seven Anglo- 
Saxon Kingdoms (827) 165 

The Danish Invasions; King Alfred the Great 
(871-901) 165 

Alfred the Great and Anglo-Saxon Civilization . 167 

England passes under Danish Rule ; Canute the 
Great 1016-1035 167 

Edward the Confessor (1042-1066); Battle of 
Hastings 1066 ; William the Conqueror and the 
Beginning of the Norman Dynasty 169 



CONTENTS XIX 

William the Conqueror's Rule in England ... 170 
The Norman Kings after William the Con- 
queror (1087-1154) 171 

II. England from 1154 to 1270. 

Accession of Henry II (1154-1189); Thomas 
Becket, Chancellor of the Kingdom . . . .172 

, Archbishop Thomas Becket and Henry II . . . 174 

The Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) .... 175 
Flight, Return and Martyrdom of Thomas 

Becket 175 

Results of the Murder 176 

Ireland before Henry IFs Reign 177 

Partial Conquest of Ireland by Henry II (1171) 178 

Henry II's Last Years and Death (1189) ... 179 

Richard the Lion-Hearted (1189-1199) .... 180 

John Lackland (1199-1216). His Character . . 181 
John's Quarrel with Philip II of France . . . .181 

John's Quarrel with the Church 181 

John's Quarrels with the Barons 182 

Contents of the Great Charter 183 

John's Last Years 184 

Henry III (1216-1272) : His Character and Reign 185 

The Provisions of Oxford (1258) 185 

The Barons' War; Battles of Lewes (1264) and of 

Evesham (1265); End of Henry Ill's Reign . . 186 

Bibliography 187 

Chapter XVI 
The Feudal Lord; Chivalry; the Crusades 

I. Feudalism; Chivalry; the Peace and Truce of God. 

The Feudal Lord; His Training and Occupation . 188 

Chivalry " 189 

The Peace and Truce of God 190 

II. The Crusades (1095-1270) ; Their Causes, Character 

and Number. 
Name ; Character and Causes of the Crusades . . 192 



XX THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Urban II ; The Council of Clermont (1095). Sum- 
mons to the First Crusade. Privileges of the 

Crusaders 193 

Character and NationaUty of the Crusaders . . . 194 
Number of the Crusades 194 

III. History of the Crusades. 

The First Crusade (1096-1099); The Four Ex- 
peditions and their Respective Leaders ... 195 
The Military Operations of the First Crusade . .195 
The Establishment of Military Religious Orders . 197 

The Second Crusade (1147-1149) 198 

The Third Crusade (1189-1192) 198 

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) 199 

The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) 199 

The Sixth Crusade (1228-1229) 200 

The Seventh Crusade (1248-1254) 200 

The Eighth Crusade (1268-1270) 201' 

IV. General Results of the Crusades. 

The Main Object of the Crusades not attained ; 

but by them Europe was saved from the Turks. 202 
. Material Advantages and Religious Indifference 

Resulting from the Crusades 202 

Political and Social Changes wrought by the 

Crusades 203 

Bibliography 204 

Chapter XVII 

New Institutions: The Mendicant Orders; The Universities; 
The Inquisition 

I. The Mendicant Orders. 

Thirteenth Century Conditions and the Rise of 

the Mendicant Orders 205 

Establishment of the Franciscans 206 

Founding of the Dominicans 207 

II. The Universities; Scholasticism; Gothic Art. 

The Rise of the Universities; Bologna and Paris 208 
Privileges of the Universities 209 



CONTENTS XXI 

University Degrees and Organization 210 

Number and Character of Students ; Student Life 211 
Scholasticism; the Scholastics or Schoolmen. . .212 

Name and Origin of Gothic Art 213 

Characteristics of Gothic Architecture 213 

The Influence and Spread of Gothic 214 

III. The Inquisition. 

Definition and Origin of the Inquisition . . . .215 

The Inquisitorial Tribunal 216 

Punishment of Heretics 217 

Character of the Inquisitors 217 

The Use of Torture and the Inquisition . . . .218 
Countries in which the Inquisition was estab- 
lished; the Spanish Inquisition; Number of 

Victims 219 

Conditions accounting for the Existence and 
Severity of the Inquisition 220 

Bibliography 222 

THIRD EPOCH (1270-1517) 
General Statement 223 

Chapter XVIII 
The Papacy: Residence at Avignon; the Great Schism 

I. Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) and King Philip IV 

the Fair (1285-1314). 
Boniface VIII, Philip the Fair and the Taxation 

of Ecclesiastical Property 224 

New Conflict between Boniface VIII and Philip 

the Fair 225 

Boniface VIII is taken Prisoner at Anagni; His 

Death (1303) 227 

II. The Papal Residence at Avignon. 

Residence of the Popes at Avignon (1309-1377) 228 
Results of the Papal Residence at Avignon . . . 229 

III. The Great Schism of the West. 

Election of Pope Urban VI (1378) 229 



XXll THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

The Election of a Second Pope, Clement VII 

(1378) 231 

Division of the Christian World 232 

Attempts to Restore Unity in the Church; the 

Council of Pisa (1409) 232 

The Council of Constance (1414-1418) 234 

Bibliography 236 

Chapter XIX 
France During and After the Hundred Years' War 

I. Name, Causes and Division of the Hundred Years' 

War (1337-1453) ; Its First Period (1337-1380). 

Name and Causes of the War 237 

Edward III claims the French Throne; the Two 

Periods of the War 238 

Comparative "Military Status of the Two Coun- 
tries 239 

The Battle of Crecy (1346) 239 

The Siege, Capture and New Settlement of 

Calais (1347) 240 

Acquisition of Dauphine by France (1349); Bat- 
tle of Poitiers (1356) 241 

Treaty of Bretigny (1360) ; the Free Companies . 242 
King Charles V (1364-1380) ; Most of the English 
Continental Possessions reconquered by 
France 243 

II. The Hundred Years' War from 1380 to 1453. 

Conditions in France from 1380 to 1415 . . . . 244 

The Battle of Agincourt (1415) 246 

Accession of Charles VII (1422); Conditions in 

France 247 

Joan of Arc (1412-1431), Her Character and 

Mission 248 

Deliverance of Orleans, May 8, 1429 250 

The Coronation at Rheims (July 17, 1429). ... 250 
Joan is captured at Compiegne (May 23, 1430) . .251 



CONTENTS XXlll 

The Trial of Joan of Arc 252 

The Execution of Joan of Arc (May 30, 1431); 
Her Beatification (April 11, 1919) 253 

End of the Hundred Years' War (1453); Its 

Results for France 254 

HI. France after the Hundred Years' War (1453-1517). 

France and Burgundy 255 

Dissimilar Character of King Louis XI (1461- 
1483) and Duke Charles the Bold (1467-1477) 256 

France and Burgundy at War; Failures and 
Death of Charles the Bold 256 

King Charles VIII (1483-1498) and the Begin- 
ning of the Italian Expeditions 257 

Louis XII (1498-1515) and Italy 258 

Bibliography • • • 260 

Chapter XX 
England from 1270 to 1509 

I. Edward I (1272-1307) and Edward II (1307-1327). 

Edward I's Accession; Leading Events of the 

Reign 261 

The Conquest of Wales (1282) 261 

The Model Parliament (1295); the Confirma- 
tion of the Charters (1297) 262 

The Succession to the Throne of Scotland . . . 263 
Insurrection in Scotland ; First Conquest of 

the Country (1296) 264 

New Rising in Scotland; William Wallace and 

Robert Bruce 264 

Edward II and Piers Ga vest on 265 

The Battle of Bannockburn (1314); Scotland 

maintains its independence 266 

New Rule of Favorites : the Despensers ; Edward 
II's Deposition (1327) 267 

II. The Reigns of Edward III (1327-1377) and Richard 

II (1377-1399). 
Edward Ill's Accession 268 



XXIV THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

The Battle of Neville's Cross (1346) 268 

The Black Death and the Statute of Laborers 

(1349) 268 

Constitutional Development; The Good Parlia- 
ment (1376) 269 

Richard II succeeds to the Throne; John Wiclif 

and Religious Unrest 270 

The Peasants' Uprising (1381) 271 

Richard's Deposition (1399^ 272 

III. England from 1399 to 1509; Her Relations with Ire- 
land. 
The Houses of Lancaster and York come suc- 
cessively to the Throne 272 
The Statute decreeing the Burning of Heretics 

(1401) 273 

Henry V and Henry VI ; Origin of the Wars of the 

Roses 274 

The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) ...... 274 

Result of the Wars of the Roses ; Reign of Henry 

VII (1485-1509) '.275 

The English in Ireland; the "Pale." 277 

The Statute of Kilkenny (1367) 277 

Tudor Policy in Ireland; Poynings Act (1494) . . 278 
Bibliography 279 

Chapter XXI 

Spain, Germany, Italy and the East 
I. Spain. 

Spain from 711 to 1002 280 

The Reconquest of Spain from 1002 to 1212 . . 280 
Gradual Establishment of Spanish National 

Unity 282 

Isabella Queen of Castile (1474-1504) ; Ferdinand 
King of Aragon (1479-1516), and the Recon- 
quest of Granada (Jan. 2, 1492) 282 

Ferdinand and Isabella's Internal Administra- 
tion . 283 



CONTENTS XXV 

II. Germany. 

General Characteristics of the Period; the Inter- 
regnum (1254-1273) 285 

Rudolf of Haspburg (1273-1291) 286 

The Succession after Rudolf . 287 

Charles IV (1347-1378) and the Golden Bull 

(1356) 288 

Growth of the Cities; Guilds; City Leagues . . . 289 
The Beginnings of Swiss Independence .... 290 
The Victories of the Swiss at Morgarten (1315) 
and Sempach (1386) ; They win complete Inde- 
pendence 291 

III. Italy. 

General Features of the History of Italy .... 292 

The City-state of Florence 293 

The Republic of Venice; Its Government. . . . 294 

Venice; Foreign Relations 295 

Milan, the Visconti and Sforza 295 

Naples and Sicily 296 

The Papal States 297 

IV. The East: Greeks, Slavs and Turks. 

The Eastern or Byzantine Empire 299 

Divisions and Advance of the Slavs 299 

The Ottoman Turks ; Their Origin and Name ; 

the Janissaries 300 

The Turks cross into Europe (1354) 301 

Attacks on Constantinople; Its Fall in 1453 . . 302 
Results of the Fall of Constantinople; New 

Turkish Successes 303 

Bibliography 304 

Chapter XXII 

Inventions, Discoveries; the Renaissance in Art and Letters 

I. Inventions and Discoveries. 

The Invention of Gunpowder 306 



XXVI THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

The Use of Paper and the Invention of the Print- 
ing Press 307 

The ItaHans in Geographical Science; Marco 
Polo (1254-1324) 308 

Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) and the 
Portuguese 309 

New Portuguese Discoveries; Colonization . .310 

Christopher Columbus (ab. 1446-1506) and His 
Plans of Discovery 310 

Columbus appeals to several European Courts for 
Help 311 

Columbus' First Voyage and the Discovery of 
America (1492) 312 

Discovery of New Lands by Columbus ; His Death 
(1506) 313 

John Cabot discovers the North American Con- 
tinent (1497); Magellan undertakes the First 
Voyage round the World (1519-1522) .... 314 
II. The Renaissance in Letters and Art. 

The Renaissance, Its Meaning, the Country of 
Its Origin 315 

Causes and Promoters of the Renaissance . . .315 

Petrarch (1304-1373) 316 

John Boccaccio (1313-1373) 317 

The Study of Greek 317 

Popes Nicholas V (1447-1455) and Pius II 
(1458-1464) 318 

The Revival of Art; Giotto (1276-1336) ; Fra An- 
gelico (1387-1455) 319 

The Three Master Minds of the Renaissance: 
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) ; Raphael (1483- 
1520) and Michelangelo (1475-1564) 319 

Results of the Renaissance 320 

Bibliography 321 

Chronological Table 323 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

I. "Christ Before Pilate." From the picture by 
Michael Munkacsy, in the possession of the 

Hon. John Wanamaker Frontispiece. 

Facing page 
II. The Crucifixion of St. Peter (6". i^^m) 17 

III. A Church built in the style of an Ancient Basilica, 

St. Mary Major's, Rome 27 

IV. The Coliseum, Rome 2^^ 

V. Castle of. St. Angelo, Bridge and St. Peter's, 

Rome 36 

VI. Arch of Constantine, Rome 66 

VII. Interior of the Church of St. Apollinare Nuovo 

(6th century) Ravenna 73 

VIII. Tomb of Theodoric the Great, Ravenna .... 76 
IX. Interior of the Mosque, now Cathedral, Cordova 113 

X. Gregory VII 138 

XL St. Francis of Assisi (Barbieri) 206 

XII. Joan of Arc— Chatillon 252 

XIII. Piazza and Basilica of St. Marc (10th to 15th 

century) Venice 294 

XIV. Statue of Gutenberg, Strasburg 307 

XV. Christopher Columbus 310 

XVI. Cathedral and Bell Tower (Giotto), Florence . . 315 
XVII. Raphael {by himself) 320 



MAPS 

Page 

1. The Roman and Hunnic Empires about 450. Facing 55 

2. The CaroHngian and Byzantine Empires, and the 

Califate about 814 Between 124 and 125 

3. Europe and the Mediterranean Lands about 1190 

Between 150 and 151 

4. Europe in 1360 Facing 228 



INTRODUCTION 

To the superficial observer a history is merely a history and 
in the imposing and confusing array of histories which crowd 
our textbook shelves there would appear to be no room for 
another. Too many are satisfied with a textbook which 
garbles and even suppresses facts; which ignores the true 
religion of Christ, and belittles or ridicules the Catholic 
Church, its institutions and its accomplishments. An 
atheistic, anti-christian, or purely materialistic interpreta- 
tion of history has become one of the great evils of our 
time. Men wish or pretend to forget that there is a God 
Who has created this world, Who redeemed it by the Blood of 
His only begotten Son, Who has watched over and protected 
it through the ages, and Whose all wise Providence has not 
failed even in the midst of the present world crisis, a crisis of 
rapine and revolution, of unrest and uprisings, of chaos and 
threatening ruin. 

A history of the Christian era which fails to take into 
account the birth and life of Christ, in a word God's plan 
for the redemption and salvation of the world, which fails 
to assign to the Catholic Church its full share in the civiliza- 
tion and progress of the world, is and must be unacceptable 
to a Catholic whether pupil or teacher. Unfortunately^ 
however, too long has it been left to the already overburdened 
teachers, to the hard working Sisters, Brothers, and Priests 
of the teaching orders to guide their pupils to a safe port amid 
the shoals and shallows of an untrustworthy and biased 
history. 

It is almost as a pioneer that Dr. Weber's "General History 
of the Christian Era " appears. Other histories, it is true, have 
been written from the Catholic point of view and have 
rendered excellent services to the Catholic cause. Practically 
all, however, are either short compendiums or lengthy refer- 
ence books unsuited for the purpose which the present 



XXX THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

work aims to fulfill. It is the aim of ^he "Catholic Educa- 
tion Press "to provide for the schools affiliated with the Catho- 
lic University of America, eventually, it is hoped for all the 
parochial schools of our country, a series of textbooks which 
shall form the Catholic youth of our nation in the fear and 
love of God, and in devotion to their country. In this double 
process obviously history has no small share. It is needless 
to mention here the progress that has been made in the past 
on other lines. Suffice it to say that the present work is 
welcomed as the harbinger of an advance in educational 
thought and endeavor, which augurs well for the future of our 
Catholic schools. 

Dr. Weber, of the faculty of the Catholic University of 
America, has prepared his "General History" with a view to 
filling the void which exists in the line of history textbooks for 
use in Catholic secondary schools. He has admirably suc- 
ceeded in his task. Starting with the birth of Christ as the 
fundamental fact which dominates the history of the Chris- 
tian Era and without consideration of which no such history 
can be complete, the author sets before his readers a narrative 
and interpretation of facts which take into account all salient 
facts of the history of the world since the beginning of the 
Christian Era. He shows how from the little mustard seed 
sprang that divine institution, the Catholic Church; he 
shows her influence on the restless tribes and peoples of the 
past; he traces the disintegration and fall of the Roman 
Empire, doomed to disappear because it spurned the tenets 
of the Master, Who through His disciples established in the 
very city which sought to destroy them by fire and sword the 
only institution of the present day which can trace back its 
history without a break to those days of persecution and mar- 
tyrdom. He paints the triimiph of the Christian Church as 
it emerges from the Catacombs to take its place upon the 
great stage of life as the one divinely appointed instructor of 
the human race, to conquer spiritually the savage tribes, 
to teach them not only to love God but even to till the soil 



INTRODUCTION XXXI 

and harness the stream, to wrest from nature tliose bounties 
which God has confided to her for man. 

The author shows how closely bound up with that of the 
Church is the history of the nations. It is not our purpose 
to point out in detail the development of his treatment. This 
book is written as the work of a learned and sincere Catholic 
who recognizes that only by giving the facts and by relating 
all the causes, in a word, by exhibiting the finger of God as 
well as the hand of man in the life of the world, can a true 
history be written. 

Dr. Weber has tried to present to the Catholic school and 
to the Catholic public in general a truthful, reliable general 
history, in the service of Catholic education, and his book 
ought to be welcome to many, who, for various reasons, have 
hitherto found the whole truth difficult of access. 

It is with pleasure that w^e present to the Catholic schools of 
our country a work, the need of which has long been keenly 
felt. We hope for it all the success which its scholarship de- 
serves. The thanks of all American Catholics, especially 
of those connected with educational work, are due -to the 
author for the labor, devotion and zeal which he has brought 
to the completion of a peculiarly difficult task. May Almighty 
God, the providential Guardian of the holy cause of Catholic 
education, grant that our efforts may not cease here but 
that our Catholic educators may continue their meri- 
torious services with growing success for the improvement 
of Catholic education in every province of human learning. 

* Thomas J. Shahan, 
Titular Bishop of Germanicopolis, 
Rector of the Catholic University of America. 



OENERAL BlBLlUCiRAPHV 

Addis-Arnold-Scannell, Catholic Dictionary. (K. Paul, London, 

1917.) 
Alzog, J., History of the Church, English Translation by Pabisch and 

Byrne, 3 vols. (Benziger, New York, 1912.) 
Conway, B. L., Studies in Church History. 2d ed. (Herder, St. Louis, 

1916.) 
De Montor, a.. Lives and Times of the Popes. (Catholic Publication 

Society, New York, 1910-1911.) 
Devas, C. S., The Key to the World's Progress. (Longmans, New York, 

1916.) 
Funk-Cappadelta, a Manual of Church History. 2 vols. (Herder, 

St. Louis, 1910.) 
Gibbons, James Cardinal, The Faith of Our Fathers. (Murphy, 

Baltimore.) 
Gosselin-Kelly, The Power of the Popes during the Middle Ages. 2 vols. 

(London, 1883). 
Grisar, H., History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages. 3 vols. 

(Herder, St. Louis, 1911). 
Guggenberger, a., a General History of the Christian Era. 3 vols. 

3d ed. (Herder, St. Louis, 1905.) 
Hergenrother, Catholic Church and Christian State. (Burns and 

Gates, London, 1876.) 
Kurth-Day, The Church at the Turning Points of History. (Naegele, 

Helena, 1918.) 
Lingard-Belloc, The History of England. 11 vols. (The Catholic 

Publication Society, New York, 1912.) 
McCoRMiCK, p. J., Flistory of Education. (The Catholic Education 

Press, Washington, 1915.) 
Mann, H. K., Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages. 12 vols. 

(Herder, St. Louis, in course of publication.) 
Montalembert, C. R. de. The Monks of the West. 2 vols. (Black- 
wood, London, 1861-79.) 
Paetow, L. J., Guide to the Study of Medieval History. (University of 

California Press, Berkeley, 1917.) 
Parsons, R., Studies in Church History . 2d ed., 6 vols. (Pustet, New 

York, 1896 sq.) 
Pastor, L., Lives of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages. 12 

vols. (Herder, St. Louis, in course of publication.) 
Ploetz-Tillinghast, a Handbook of Universal History. (Houghton 
. Mifflin. New York, 1915.) 



GENERAL BTBLTOGRAPTIY XXxiii 

Putnam, G. P., Tabular Vieius of Universal History. (Putnam , New 

York, 1907.) 
Rodinson-Breastei)-Beak[), Outlines of European. History, 2 Parts. 

(Gimi, New York, 1914.) 
Shepherd, W. R., Historical Atlas. (Holt, New York, 1911.) 
The Catholic Encyclopedia. 16 vols. (D. Appleton, New York 

1907-1914.) 
Turner, Bishop William, History of Philosophy. (Ginn, Boston, 1903.) 
Walsh, J. J., The Popes and Science. (Fordham University Press New 

York, 1908.) 
Idem., The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries. (Catholic Summer Sehool 

Press, New York, 1907.) 



INTRODUCTORY QUEvSTIONvS. 

1. Definition of History. — History is the record or narra- 
tive of the important events of human Hfe. These events 
are usually considered in relation to their causes and effects 
and are frequently arranged in chronological order. They 
are set forth with'the circumstances in which they occurred, 
which help to interpret and explain- them. History, in 
other words, tries to give a true and reliable picture of the 
condition of an individual, a society, a people, or mankind 
in the partial or complete course of its existence. While 
human life in all its manifestations interests the human 
mind, civilized peoples, that is, peoples who have themselves 
made history, generally receive and deserve greater attention 
in historical studies. Barbarian tribes of hunters, fishermen, 
or nomads prove less attractive, and as a rule are considered 
only when they come in contact with civilized nations. 
As to civilization itself it is of a genuine and lasting character 
only when based on the eternal truths taught by Jesus Christ, 
the Savior of the world. His teaching not only renewed 
religion, but radically transformed the state, raised family 
life to a higher plane and modified all relations between man 
and man. Owing to this incalculable influence of Christ's 
teaching, the present work, while dealing chiefly with the 
nations which have developed a Christian civilization, also 
devotes, in order to give historical events their proper setting, 
considerable space to a discussion of the life and action of the 
Catholic Church. 

A civilized people is usually distinguished from an un- 
cultured race by the following characteristics: (1) A well- 
organized government which will usually be either a republic 
or a monarchy ; (2) a religion free from gross and pernicious 
views; (3) agricultural, industrial, commercial and intel- 
lectual activity; (4) distinction of men by their occupations 
into various classes and professions, such as farmers, crafts- 

3 



4 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

men, merchants, officials; (5) contributions of greater or less 
importance to literature, art, and science. 

2. Division of the History of the Christian Era. — The 

history of the Christian Era naturally falls into three 
great periods: (a) The first period, which extends from the 
birth of Christ to the fall of the Western Empire or from the 
year 1 to the year 476. During this period, known as 
Christian Antiquity, the Greeks and Romans were the chief 
representatives both of civilization and Christianity, (b) 
The second period, which extends from the fall of the Western 
Empire to the beginning of the so-called Reformation, or 
from 476 to 1517. It is called the Middle Ages because it is 
the period of transition from Ancient to Modern Civiliza- 
tion. During this time religious unity prevailed in the 
Christian Church, and the new nations, formed after the 
invasion of the barbarians, became the main representatives 
of civilization, (c) The third period, known as Modern 
Times, which extends from the Reformation to our own day, 
that is, from 1517 to the present time. This period is 
especially characterized by important changes in the religious, 
social, and political ideas of the Christian world and con- 
sequent changes in the life and organization of state and 
Church. 

3. Two of these three Periods are Subdivided into Epochs. 
— The following table gives an idea of the division into 
periods and their subdivision into epochs: 

I. Period, 1-476 It is not necessary to subdivide this period, 

which will consequently be treated as a 
whole in this work. 

1. From the Fall of the Western Empire to 

II. Period, 476-1517, Its Restoration by the Coronation of Char- 
subdivided into Three lemagne (476-800). 

Epochs. 2. From the Coronation of Charlemagne to 

the End of the Crusades (800 -1270). 
3. From the End of the Crusades to the 
Beginning of the Reformation (1270-1517). 



INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS 



III. Period, 1517 to the 
Present Day subdi- 
vided into Four 
Epochs 



1. From the Reformation to the Treaty of 
Westphalia (1517-1648). 

2. From the Treaty of Westphalia to the 
French Revolution (1648-1789). 

3. From the French Revolution to the Down- 
fall of Napoleon (1789-1815). 

4. From the Downfall of Napoleon to the 
Present Day. (1815 to the present day.) 
Bibliography 

Hull, E. R., Civilization and Culture. (Kenedy, New York, 1915.) 
Vincent, J. M., Historical Research. (Holt, New York, 1911.) 



First Period 

(1-476) 

CHAPTER I 

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION AND THE ROMAN WORLD TO 
THE YEAR 476 

I. Jesus Christ; the Christian Religion 

4. Preparation of the World for the Coming of Christ. — 

Two great events, which took place almost at the same 
time, influenced in a permanent, though different manner 
the history of the world: the more important of these was 
the coming of Christ and the preaching of His doctrine; 
the second, less important, but earlier in point of time, 
was the establishment of the Empire in Rome. The es- 
tablishment of this great political power was a preparation 
for the appearance of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the 
Blessed Trinity, among men. This preparation is evidenced 
by the following conditions, prevalent at this time in the 
then known world : 

(a) All nations were united under one ruler, the Roman 
emperor; and for the first time the whole world was at 
peace. The Apostles could thus preach the Gospel without 
being compelled to deal with many governments and without 
being hindered by warlike operations and disorder. 

(b) One general language, Greek, was spoken throughout 
the empire. It was not understood by all the inhabitants, 
this being particularly true of the poorer classes in the West ; 
but it could be used everywhere, would everywhere be 
understood by sonie, and in many parts of the emjjire by 
all the people. 

(c) Along with the adx-anlagc of reaching in one language 
most of the inhabitants of the immense Roman world must 

7 



8 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

be mentioned the facility afforded for travelling throughout 
the empire, owing to the existence of the numerous and 
magnificent Roman roads. These led from the Golden 
Milestone in the capital to the remotest corners of the 
earth. The messengers of the new religion could thus 
easily transport themselves to the different parts of the 
Roman world. 

(d) The Jews, believers in the one true God, were scattered 
over the whole empire. They had established flourishing 
colonies particularly in the large cities and great commercial 
centres. Wherever they were, they had remained sub- 
stantially faithful to their religious practises and familiarized 
the pagans with the idea of one God, thus preparing them 
for the acceptance of the Christian religion. 

(e) Success was the more easily secured in this propaganda, 
because many persons no longer believed in the doctrines 
of the pagan religion; and Christianity was the more readily 
accepted after this remote preparation, because the whole 
world at the time expected a Redeemer. 

5. Jesus Christ is born at Bethlehem. — When the "fulness 
of time" had come, that is to say, after this careful prepara- 
tion, Jesus Christ was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 
Bethlehem in Judea, Palestine.^ His birth in a stable at 
the time of the third census of Augustus was announced by 
angels to shepherds guarding their flocks in the neighbour- 
hood. The greater part of His life, known as the hidden 
life, was spent in obscurity with His parents at Nazareth. 
This period was marked by two important events: His 
flight into Egypt and His presence in the temple at Jerusalem. 
The Sacred Scriptures tell us that in this celebrated sanc- 
tuary when still a mere child He astounded the Doctors by 



» It is a generally admitted fact that the first year of the Christian Era is not the exact 
year of Christ's birth. Denis the Little, who in the sixth century introduced our 
present method of reckoning time, placed the birth of Christ in 754 U. C. But Our 
Lord was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 750. His birth must, 
therefore, be placed about 748. i.e., a few years earlier than the beginning of the Chris- 
tian Era. 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 



the wisdom of His answers. They contain but few other 
details regarding His hidden hfe; they call attention, how- 
ever, to His practise of obedience to His parents during 
this period. 

When He was about thirty years old, in the fifteenth year 
of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius (14-37), Jesus began 
His public life. For three years He went about in Palestine, 
preaching in the synagogues, declaring Himself the Messiah, 
the true Son of God and announcing that He had come 
upon earth to save men and redeem them from sin. His 
teaching was soon opposed and His person denounced by 
the teachers of the Jewish people, the sect known as the 
Pharisees. Their opposition finally culminated in His 
betrayal by Judas and His arrest in the Garden of Olives at 
the gates of Jerusalem.. Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrim 
or High Council of the Jews and 'sentenced to death as a 
blasphemer who had called Himself the Son of God. This 
sentence could not be carried out in Palestine, then a Roman 
province, without the consent of the Roman Governor 
Pontius Pilate. The latter personally wished to release 
Jesus and to remain "innocent of the blood of this just man." 
But being a time-serving, rather than a just official, he 
yielded to the clamors of the Jewish rabble for the blood 
of the Savior and delivered the God-Man up to His enemies. 
They nailed Him ignominiously to the Cross between two 
thieves on Golgotha or Calvary, a hill not far distant from 
Jerusalem. 

6. Jesus rises from the Dead; His Doctrine.— The unjust 
execution of Jesus and the apparent triumph of His enemies 
marked not only the beginning of the wonderful spread of 
His doctrine, but also a new era in the moral transformation 
of the world. The Redeemer, in virtue of His divine power, 
rose from the dead, appeared miraculously to His Apostles 
and Disciples on many occasions, and thus confirmed them 
in their loyalty to His memory and teaching. His doctrine 
has been' transmitted to us especially in the inspired writings 



10 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

of the New Testament. According to them Jesus Christ 
taught that it is the first duty of man to love God above all 
things, and the second, to love his neighbor as himself. 
This love of one's neighbor ought to extend even to one's 
personal enemies, and man ought always to be ready to 
return good for evil. These high-minded actions ought to 
spring from a sincere and loving heart. God, our universal 
Father, will reward in heaven the practise of meekness, 
charity and long-suffering, as well as that of all other virtues 
such as humility, poverty, purity. In His sight, all are 
equal, rich and poor, ignorant and learned, Greek and 
barbarian. He extends equal recompense to all, provided 
they obey His law and do His w411. 

This teaching of Jesus, particularly His preaching of 
universal equality and brotherhood. His love of poverty and 
humility, was in strange and striking contrast with the 
current ethical notions of His day. The pagan world, 
which His doctrine was to convert and reform, relied on 
physical force and prided itself on its temporal possessions. 
Charity was unknown to it and slavery a well-established 
institution. Its gods, innumerable and selfish, restricted 
their protection to one nation. The religion of Jesus, on 
the contrary, was for all nations and peoples. It was all- 
comprehensive, in so far as mankind was concerned; it was 
all-exclusive in respect to other religions, because it was the 
only true one and could not consent to compromise with 
error.^^ 

7. Pentecost and the Spread of the Christian Religion. — 
During the lifetime of Jesus Christ twelve of His more inti- 
mate disciples became, as it were, His constant companions 
and are usually designated as the twelve Apostles. It was 
upon them, with the exception of the traitor Judas, that the 
duty devolved to preach the doctrine which they had re- 
ceived from the Master. The Lord Himself chose them 
for this mission and bade them preach the glad tidings of the 
new Church founded by Him : 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 11 

"Going, Iheref ore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name 
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to 
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and behold, I 
am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. "^ 

They received the strength to fulfill this important, difficult, 
and dangerous mission on Pentecost Day, when, while they 
were assembled at Jerusalem, the Holy Ghost came down 
upon them. Pentecost marked not only a complete trans- 
formation in the hitherto pusillanimous Apostles ; it was also 
the day on which, for the first time, a large number of 
conversions to the Church of Christ was made. In the city 
of Jerusalem and the surrounding country about 3,000 
persons were converted. Many of these converts were 
strangers, whom the Feast of Pentecost had attracted to the 
Holy City and who, after their return to their native lands, 
became the first messengers of the Gospel outside Palestine. 
In the latter country the Apostles continued the work begun 
at Pentecost, and the number of believers increased daily. 
Persecution, however, soon interfered with the Apostles' 
work among the Jews ; and in quest of a more favorable field 
for their endeavors, they spread in different directions, to 
announce the Gospel of Christ in the various parts of the 
Roman world and beyond. They usualh^ repaired to the 
large cities and preached in the SA^nagogues. 

8. Saint Peter and Saint Paul. — St. Peter, the rock upon 
whom Christ had built His Church, proceeded from Palestine 
to Antioch. Subsequently, he removed to Rome, as even 
celebrated non-Catholic historians admit today, and trans- 
mitted the supreme authority to govern the Church to his 
successors in the Roman See. 

St. Peter was not, however, the most remarkable and 
ardent preacher among the Apostles. As a missionary, he 
and all the other Apostles were surpassed by Saul, later 
known as Paul, the one-time persecutor of the Church. 
St. Paul was Ijorn at Tarsus in Cilicia of Jewish parents and 



Matth. .xxviii, 19-20. 



12 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

with the rights of Roman citizenship. From one of the 
bitterest opponents of the Church, he was wonderfully 
transformed, after his miraculous conversion on the road to 
Damascus, into the most intrepid and tireless preacher the 
Catholic Church has ever known. Unlike the other Apostles 
who were poor and uncultured, he was well versed in all the 
sacred and profane learning of the day. In several mis- 
sionary journeys he traversed Asia Minor, Greece, Macedonia 
Italy, and certainly intended to go to Spain, if he did not 
actually visit that country. He preached in such cities as 
Athens, Corinth and Rome. In Rome he suffered martyr- 
dom under Nero (67 A. D.) -about the same time as St. 
Peter. He has rightly been called the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
i.e., of the pagans, and through his missionary activity he 
was instrumental more than any other one merely human 
agent in securely establishing the Christian religion. 

II. State of the World at the Introduction of 
THE Christian Religion 

9. Establishment of the Roman Empire by Augustus 31 

B. C. — The efforts of the Christian missionaries in spreading 
the Gospel were exerted at the beginning almost exclusively 
in the world subject to Rome. The establishment of the 
Empire, i. e., of the personal rule of Octavius, was not many 
years anterior to the birth of Christ, since it dated back 
only to the battle of Actium (31 B. C). The change from 
the republic to this new form of government was more real 
than apparent, for Octavius, mindful of Caesar's tragic 
fate, gradually concentrated all power in his own hands, 
though outwardly he seemingly maintained and protected 
all the old Roman institutions. He declined the title of 
Dictator, maintained the Senate and the Consuls, but con- 
sented to be called "Augustus," the August, a name used in 
connection with sacred places. Other titles were conferred 
upon him; he was called "Imperator," Emperor. This 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 13 

name, which then meant, not civil ruler as today, but 
victorious general, indicated the origin of his power and 
conferred upon him the legal command of all the armies. 
He was also styled "Tribune," which rendered his person 
inviolable; "Censor," which entitled him to the nomination 
of senators and the surveillance of the citizens; "High 
Priest," which placed him in supreme control over religious 
affairs; finally "Princeps" or President of the Senate and 
first among all citizens. 

Augustus thus enjoyed all titles and wielded all power; 
affairs of state, however, seemed to be administered as 
formerly. The Senate framed the laws, and the magistrate 
enforced them in the name of the people. The standards 
of the armies continued to bear the inscription: S. P. Q. R., 
i.e., "Senatus Populusque Romanus," the Senate and the 
Roman people. Augustus led the life of an ordinary citizen, 
went to the polls, supported his friends at the elections, took 
his turn speaking in the Senate and was accessible to all 
in his unpretentious residence on the Palatine. He wished to 
impose order on Rome and himself gave the example. 
These democratic and unassuming ways only served to hide 
from the public his exercize of absolute power. A privy 
council, known as the Council of the Prince, governed the 
Empire in fact under the supreme control of the Emperor, 
while through various officials the control of affairs in the 
city itself was also concentrated in his hands. 

10. The City of Rome under Augustus. — The restoration 
of order and tranquillity in the city broaght with it increased 
prosperity. New monuments rose on all sides, and Augustus 
toward the end of his reign could rightly boast that he had 
found Rome of brick and left it of marble. He endeavored 
especially to increase the water supply of the city, devoted 
his energy to the construction of magnificent aqueducts, 
and created for this purpose a special corps of engineers. 
He also sought to stem the tide of moral corruption and to 
restore the old religious practises. . Laws against divorce 



14 THE C-HRISTIAN ERA 

and celibacy were enacted as a means of preventing the 
birth rate from further decHning. 

As coworkers in his efforts to estabhsh the affairs of the 
empire on a solid basis, two of his friends deserve mention: 
Agrippa, the conqueror of Antony, and Maecenas, the great 
patron of arts and letters during the reign. 

11. The Provinces under Augustus. — The establishment 
of the empire was most advantageous to the provinces. 
With this event their oppression by the Proconsuls ceased; 
their administration was placed in the hands of state officials, 
known as Legates. These were appointed by the emperor 
and were obliged to render an account of their administration. 
Furthermore, the inhabitants of the provinces enjoyed the 
right of electing assemblies, which could directly address 
requests and petitions to the emperor. Augustus per- 
sonally undertook numerous journeys to his various states, 
to acquaint himself with their needs. More roads were 
constructed, great public works were carried out, and security 
was established everywhere. The conquered nations and 
outlying countries could not help acknowledging the bless- 
ings of imperial rule, and bestowed on it the beautiful title 
of "Roman Peace," Pax Romana. This state of security 
could the more easily be established, as the empire was 
protected almost everywhere by a natural boundary line, 
which was formed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Sahara Desert, 
the Euphrates, the Danube and the Rhine. The territory 
lying between the two latter rivers was, however, weak 
along its frontiers. 

12. Religion in Rome at the Beginning of Christianity. — 
The Romans honored not only a large, but an enormous 
number of gods. These were so numerous that the priests 
had to use special books, in which the various names were 
listed. If piety were to be judged by the number of gods, 
the Romans could be accounted the most devout people of 
antiquity. But the moral sentiments inculcated were not 
in proportion to the multitude of diA^inities. The Roman 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 15 

religion made an attempt to regulate the morality of the 
people, but not to transform the individual, whose happiness 
it did not seek to procure either in this world or the next. 
It aimed at the morality of the family for the benefit of the 
state. The Roman virtues, courage in war, domestic 
economy, fidelity in marriage were patriotic virtues, and 
only as such were they taught and practised in the pagan 
state. The gods formed part of the body politic on which 
religion was based. Every citizen belonged, in a most abso- 
lute manner, to the state power, both as regards his person 
and his property. An indifferent or neutral attitude in 
public affairs, of which religion formed an important and 
inseparable part was not tolerated. Pagans might jest at 
the gods, but they were compelled to be present at the official 
sacrifices. 

The natives of the conquered territories might continue 
to honor their provincial deities; the latter were even ad- 
mitted among the gods of Rome ; but along with this worship, 
each subject of the empire had to conform to the old official 
worship of the Roman State. Rome was always willing to 
acquire new gods, and Christianity could easily have been 
admitted among the existing religions. But Christianity 
could not consent to the toleration of the pagan religions 
side by side with itself. It was the only true religion, and 
consequently condemned and excluded all the others. It 
taught that Christ was the true God and that all the other 
gods were false. Under these circumstances a conflict was 
bound to ensue between the Roman State and the Christian 
Church. It broke out in the persecutions, which lasted 
with many interruptions for three hundred years. 

III. Conflict between Christianity and the 
Roman State 

13. The Persecutions of the Christians; Their General 
Cause, Number and Division. — The chief cause of the 
persecutions, as has just been stated, was the fact that the 



16 THE CHRLSTIAN ERA 

organization of the Roman State and the claims of the 
Christian Church were utterly irreconcilable. Catholic 
historians, following Orosius, usually number ten persecu- 
tions. But this number is more acceptable for its symbolism 
than for its accuracy ; it was adopted in remembrance of the 
ten plagues of Egypt. The persecutions, logically grouped in 
two periods, took place under the following emperors: 





' Nero, 54-68 


Decius, 249-251. 




Domitian, 81-96. II 


Valerian, 253-260. 


I 


1 Trajan, 98-117 Period 


' Aurelian, 270-275. 


Period \ 


Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 
1 Septimius Severus, 193- 
1 211. 
^ Maximin the Thracian, 235-238. 


Diocletian, 284-305 



As is seen, the division into periods is very unequal, the 
first one comprising two centuries and the second only about 
half a century. The reason for this inequality is to be sought 
in the fact that the division is based on the difference in 
character of the persecutions and not on their duration. 

During the first period the attacks made on the Christians 
were frequently only local, due either to the ill-will of an 
emperor or governor or to the outbreak of popular fury. 

During the second period they were both more determined 
and more systematic. The emperors had come to the con- 
clusion that the existence of the Christians was irreconcilable 
with the well-being of the Roman State and that theiir ex- 
termination was demanded by the vital interests of the 
empire. 

14. The Persecution under Nero (64-68). — The first 
great and most generally known persecution occurred under 
the Emperor Nero. It began in the summer of the year 64. 
In the month of July of that year a fire, which started on 
the Palatine and lasted for nine days, destroyed almost 
two-thirds of Rome. While it cannot be proved with cer- 
tainty today who was the author or what was the cause of 
the conflagration, the emperor himself was suspected by the 
people of having set the city on fire and of having caused this 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 17 

^^cnera] disaster. To clear himself of such a <:;:riev()us charge, 
he accused the Christians of the crime and sent many of 
them to a horrible death. The victims were very numerous; 
many were covered with the skins of wild beasts and thrown 
to furious dogs ; others were crucified ; and some were covered 
with pitch or other inflammable materials and set on fire to 
illuminate the city at night. The names of only a few of 
the victims have been preserved for us. The most illustrious 
among them were the Apostles Peter and Paul. The latter, 
according to tradition, was beheaded, while St. Peter was 
crucified head downwards. The persecution lasted very 
probably until the end of Nero's reign (68), and can hardly 
have been confined to the city of Rome. The provinces 
very probably followed the example of the capital and 
likewise massacred the Christians. 

15. The Persecution under Decius (249-251).— The second 
period of the persecutions opens with the reign of Decius. 
Intent upon restoring the ancient power and splendor of the 
Roman State, the emperor sought to win the Christians 
back to heathenism. The visible decline of the empire 
could, in his eyes, be arrested in its progress only by the 
restoration of the old paganism. He set about carrying 
out his purpose with such method and ruthless energy that 
the persecution inaugurated by him surpassed all previous 
ones in cruelty. Long and horrrible tortures were first to 
be inflicted on the Christians to win them back to the old 
state religion. The bishops alone were immediately put to 
death, that the empire might triumph the more easily over 
a disorganized and headless flock. As for this flock itself, 
owing to the comparatively long period of peace, which had 
lasted with a slight interruption from 211 to 249, the religious 
fervor of primitive times no longer animated all the Christians. 
Many of them fled before the persecutors; others sought 
certificates or had their names inserted in the official registers, 
as proofs of their compliance with the imperial edicts; 
others again burned incense or sacrificed to the idols. But 



18 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

while the number of the apostates was undoubtedly large, 
the spirit of Christian heroism was not dead. At Rome 
Pope Fabian suffered martyrdom for the faith; in Sicily 
St. Agatha died amidst horrible tortures; at Smyrna St. 
Pionius was burned to death. The famous Origen suffered 
the most excruciating torments, as a result of which he died 
a few years later. The persecution was most severe par- 
ticularly in the Province of Africa, which furnished the 
largest number of martyrs. 

16. The Persecution under Diocletian (303-305). — The 
last persecution was inaugurated by Diocletian; it was the 
greatest and bloodiest of them all, and decided finally the 
issue between Christianity and paganism in favor of the 
former. Diocletian reigned from 284 to 305. At the be- 
ginning of his reign he not only tolerated the Christians, but 
even exhibited favorable dispositions towards and extensive 
confidence in them. The Christians were freed from the 
obligation of participating in pagan sacrifices. The}^ were 
appointed to high offices in the state and even in the imperial 
palace. Their number increased very rapidly; beautiful 
Christian churches arose in the important cities, and even 
members of the imperial family adopted the new religion. 
This state of things might have endured until the end of the 
reign had it not been for the nefarious influence of Galerius, 
whom Diocletian had appointed Caesar when he introduced 
the new division of the empire. Galerius, supported by 
numerous like-minded pagans, succeeded in convincing the 
emperor of the necessity of enforcing the old Roman wor- 
ship. The execution of the plan began in 298 with the 
publication of an order affecting the army. Christian 
officers were bidden to sacrifice to the idols under penalty 
of losing their rank. Refusal meant exclusion from the 
army, and for some even death. For several years this 
special measure, directed against the military, remained 
alone in force; but in 303 the persecution became general. 
Edict now followed edict in quick succession. The first 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 19 

appeared on February 24, 303. It decreed the destruction 
of the Christian churches, the burning of the Sacred Scrip- 
tures, the loss of their dignities and offices by the Christians 
in high positions, and the denial of the protection of the 
laws to them all of whatever condition. Popular uprisings 
in some provinces and a fire in the imperial palace at Njco- 
media were attributed to the Christians and were followed 
by more severe measures. A second edict ordered the 
imprisonment of all clerics; a third subjected them to torture, 
to force them to offer sacrifice. A fourth edict appeared at 
the beginning of 304, imposing on all Christians the choice 
between sacrifice and death. Blood now flowed in streams. 
So numerous were the victims that the period was called 
the ''Era of the Martyrs.'' The persecution raged chiefly 
in the East, where it continued for several years after Dio- 
cletian's abdication in 305. Gaul, on the contrary, where 
Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine the Great, 
was ruling, suffered little more than material damage. 
This Caesar, confining himself to the execution of the first 
edict, demjanded only that the Christian churches be de- 
stroyed or closed. In the East, the attempt to destroy 
Christianity by exterminating its followers proved unsuc- 
cessful. Galerius, the chief instigator of the persecution, 
was forced to recognize the failure of his efforts. In 311, 
shortly before his death, he published an edict granting 
tolerance to the Christians. 

IV. End of the Conflict: Constantine Grants 
Freedom to the Church (313.) 

17. Constantine and the Battle of the Milvian Bridge 

(Oct., 312). — Constantine, subsequently called the Great, 
succeeded his father Constantius in the government of Gaul 
in 306. Although still a pagan, he continued the mild policy 
of his predecessor in dealing with the Christians. While 
he governed Gaul, Maxentius was ruling Italy. Difficulties 



20 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

soon manifested - themselves between the two nei|^hbors, 
and Const antine, in an effort to decide the issue, invaded 
Italy. It was an unusually bold move under the circum- 
stances; for not only was his army outnumbered three to 
one by that of Maxentius, but as the latter's forces were 
stationed at and near Rome, the former seemed to attack 
this ancient city itself, which was considered sacred and 
inviolable by the pagans. Anxious about the possible issue 
of the struggle, and desirous of help from above, Constantine 
beheld one day in the heavens a fiery cross, standing over 
the sun and inscribed with these words: "In this conquer; 
en touto nika." While he was thinking about this appari- 
tion, Christ instructed him, the following night, in a dream, 
to go forth into battle armed with this sign, and commanded 
him to make a standard after this pattern. The new banner, 
known as the "Labarum," was very extensively used from 
then onward in the Roman armies. The battle between the 
two rival contenders was fought at the Milvian Bridge near 
Rome. Maxentius was utterly defeated and, with many of 
his legionaries, drowned in the Tiber (Oct. 27 or 28, 312). 

18. The Edict of Milan (313).— With this victory of 
Constantine the triumph of Christianity was assured. Shortly 
afterwards he proceeded to Milan, where, in conjunction 
with his brother-in-law Licinius, he issued in 313 the famous 
edict which granted permanent toleration to the Christians, 
and which is usually known as the edict of Milan. It reads 
in part: 

"When I, Constantine Augustus, and I, Licinius Augustus, came under 
favorable auspices to Milan and took under consideration everything 
which pertained to the common weal and prosperity, we resolved among 
other things, or rather first of all, to make such decrees as seemed in 
many respects for the benefit of everyone, namely such as should pre- 
serve reverence and piety toward the deity. We resolved, that is, to 
grant both to the Christians and to all men freedom to follow the 
religion which they choose, that whatever heavenly divinity exists, 
may be propitious to us and to all that live under our government. We 
have, therefore, determined with sound and upright purpose, that liberty 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 21 

is to be denied to no one, to choose and to follow the religious observ- 
ances of the Christians, but that to each one freedom is to be given, to 
devote his mind to that religion, which he may think adapted to him- 
self, in order that the deity may exhibit to us in all things his accus- 
tomed care and favor. "^ 

This edict suppressed the repressive measures previously 
issued against the Christians and granted them, equally with 
the pagans, the free exercize of their religion. It was more 
important than the above-mentioned edict of Galerius, 
because that edict granted only conditional tolerance, whereas 
Constantine guaranteed absolute religious freedom. 

V. Church and State from 313 to 476 

19. The Religious Policy of Constantine after 313.— As 

will be remembered, the history of the first three centuries is 
largely a history of the Church's struggle against persecution 
and oppression. The Edict of Milan officially recognized 
the Christian religion. Henceforth no distinction was to be 
made by the state between Christians and pagans. i\ll 
might be admitted to public offices. The Christian churches, 
like the pagan temples, might be used as places of refuse and 
enjoy the right of sanctuary. 

After this official declaration, a great deal depended on 
the personal attitude of the emperors in its application. 
Constantine and his successors were absolute rulers and 
might conform more or less faithfully to the tenor of the 
edict. What an important part the personal views of the 
emperors were to play in the religious history of the empire 
appears from a study of the period immediately following 
the adoption of religious tolerance in 313. Constantine the 
Great for ten years sincerely observed the provisions of the 
religious edict which he had issued. It is true that he 
restricted pagan liberty and issued laws favorable to the 
Christians, as when he made vSunday a public festival in 



1 Eusebius: Church Ilislory, Book X, Chapter V, in Scribner'.s Nicrne and Post- 
Nicene Fathers, vol, I, p. 379. 



22 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

321. But these laws were a departure from the edict more 
in appearance than in reality. For similar regulations were 
already in existence in favor of paganism, and some of the 
restrictions merely prohibited certain objectionable and 
immoral practises connected with pagan worship. The 
emperor, realizing the necessity of proceeding cautiously, 
as the majority of the population was still trtie to its ancient 
gods, continued to bear the title and perform the functions 
of Supreme Pontiff of the heathen religion. 

20. Constantine and Licinius. — But whilst the emperor 
of the West did not entirely conceal his preferences for 
Christianity, Licinius, his colleague in the East, adopted an 
entirely different policy. Licinius, indeed, never repealed 
the edict of 313; but he issued restrictive measures against 
the Christians. They were expelled from the army and 
dismissed from the court; their religious services were in- 
terfered with, and even bloody persecution was used against 
them by some governors. Jealous}^ and diversity of policy 
soon caused open warfare between the two emperors, and a 
decisive battle was fought in 323 at Adrianople. Licinius 
was defeated; he lost his crown and, in the following year, 
his life. Constantine thus became sole ruler of East and 
West. The conflict between the two emperors had been 
in reality a conflict between the two religions and ended 
with the triumph of Christianity. Constantine now openly 
became the protector of the new religion. With his financial 
assistance splendid buildings were erected for Christian 
worship. He granted the Christian Church the right to 
,^-A^ receive donations and legacies and himself bestowed on it 
^ munificent gifts. 

^21. Arianism; the Council of Nice (325). — Just when a 
splendid future seemed to open for the once despised religion 
of Christ, new dangers arose to threaten it, this time from 
within: Christianity victorious against the Roman State 
was rent by internal divisions, by heresies. Some of its 
adherents obstinately denied certain essential doctrines of 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 23 

the faith preached by Jesus Christ, and, in so doing, separated 
themselves from His Church. The first and most famous 
of the heresies that arose during this period was Arianism, 
which denied the divinity of the Son of God and His equaHty 
in all things with the Father. The Council of Nice in 325 
condemned this teaching and asserted the true Catholic 
belief of the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father. 
Const ant ine supported the decisions of the council with 
his authority for some time. After a few years, however, he 
assumed an attitude of toleration toward Arianism and its 
leaders. At his death in 337 he was succeeded by his three 
sons, Constantine II (337-340), Constans (337-350), and 
Constantius (337-361), who divided his dominions. Con- 
stantine II was an open protector of the Catholics, Constans 
assumed a less favorable attitude toward them, and Con- 
stantius publicly and in a determined manner supported 
Arianism. 

22. Julian the Apostate (361-363) and his Attempt at a 
Pagan Restoration. — Constantius, who had reunited the 
empire under his rule, was succeeded by Julian, the nephew^ of 
Constantine and the last representative of the Constantinian 
dynasty. Julian has gone down in history with the sur- 
name of the Apostate, because he despised and renounced 
the Christian religion in which he was born. He had spent 
many years at Athens in the study of Greek letters and 
philosophy. In 357 he was appointed Caesar and invested 
with the government of Gaul. In this position he displayed 
excellent military qualities and was popular with the army. 
In 360 he was proclaimed Augustus by his troops; the 
death of Constantius averted a civil war and made Julian 
undisputed ruler (361). The new emperor, who was never 
a Christian at heart, now felt free from all religious restraint. 
He openly abjured Christianity and made a determined 
attempt to restore the pagan religion in a modified form. 
In order to strengthen their administrative system he 
reproduced among the pagans the Christian hierarchy, 



24 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

viz., an organization with a supreme pontiff, metropolitans, 
bishops, and priests. He also introduced frequent preach- 
ing and the practise of charity. The former was a means of 
spreading or maintaining pagan teaching; the latter offset 
the influence exercized by Christian benevolent institutions. 
Hospitals, asylums, and houses for the reception of strangers 
were erected under pagan auspices. Paganism again became 
the official religion, and sacrifices w^ere offered in the name 
of states, provinces, and cities. 

23. Julian's Opposition to Christianity. — Hand in hand 
with this pagan restoration went the oppression of Chris- 
tianity in spite of the emperor's hypocritical declaration 
that the Galileans, as he contemptuously called the Chris- 
tians, enjoyed complete freedom in his empire. At every 
opportunity he showed his contempt for them. They were 
dismissed from all official positions and discriminated against 
in special imperial laws. They were forbidden to teach the 
classics, because, it was alleged, a master should not read 
and interpret a book which speaks of gods in whom he does 
not believe. The real reason for the prohibition was the 
fact that the fables of mythology were, in the hands of the 
Christians, a weapon against paganism. The aim of such 
legislation was the exclusion of the Christians from the 
culture of the day and from all higher positions. 

Julian's efforts ended in miserable failure because the 
decayed paganism of his day could not be revived and because 
his work was hardly begun when he fell in the war against 
the Persians (363). The words, "O Galilean, thou hast 
conquered," which legend declares he uttered in his dying 
moments, though probably never actually pronounced by 
him, nevertheless fittingly express the judgment passed by 
the world on his misguided efforts to destroy the religion of 
Christ. 

24. Theodosius I, the Great (379-395) ; Christianity be- 
comes the State Religion. — Julian died without heirs. The 
government of the empire again fell to soldiers of fortune who 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 25 

immediately restored to the Christian rehgion its ancient 
rights and encouraged its progress. Heathenism gradually 
disappeared from the cities and was to be found only in 
villages, hamlets, and rural districts. For that reason the 
name paganism (religion of the peasants, from "pagus," 
village), which we meet in a law of 368, was now used to 
designate the old worship. The title and insignia of Supreme 
Pontiff were laid aside for the first time by the Emperor 
Gratian (375-383). This ruler also deprived the Vestal 
virgins of their privileges and of their support by the state. 
He ordered the removal of the altar and statue of Victory 
from the Roman curia or Senate Chamber, and would not 
even receive the embassy sent to him to apply for its restora- 
tion. The reign of Theodosius I, the Great, was marked by 
still further restrictions imposed on pagan worship. Orders 
were issued for the closing of many pagan temples. In a 
popular upheaval at Alexandria all the temples, including 
the famous temple of Serapis, were destroyed, and the 
emperor took no measures against the disturbers of the 
peace. Some of the pagan temples which were not destroyed 
were claimed by the Christians to be used for their services. 
These events prompted the famous rhetorician Libanius to 
write a defense of pagan places of worship which, however, 
gained nothing for his cause. In 391 Theodosius and his 
colleague Valentinian II issued a common edict forbidding, 
under heavy fines, all public heathen worship, making pagan 
sacrifices unlawful, and even prohibiting the visiting of 
temples and the worship of idols. At the end of Theodosius' 
reign paganism was illicit in all its manifestations, and 
Christianity was in reality the religion of the state. 

25. Power of the Catholic Clergy; Penance of Theodosius. 
■ — An incident which illustrates the fact that a new power, 
that of the Church and clergy, had arisen in the world is 
found in the life of Theodosius. In a riot caused at Thes- 
salonica, the modern Saloniki, by the imprisonment of a 
favorite charioteer, the inhabitants had massacred the general 



26 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

and several officers of the imperial garrison (390). When 
the news of the event reached Theodosius he flew into an 
uncontrollable rage and took cruel revenge on the inhabitants 
of the city. He issued orders to his Gothic soldiers to 
surround the circus during a performance and to massacre 
the spectators; seven thousand persons perished in the 
slaughter. This horrible execution aroused general indigna- 
tion. When, shortly afterwards, the emperor wished to 
attend religious services in the cathedral of Milan, St. 
Ambrose refused him admission until he had done penance for 
his horrible crime. Theodosius submitted and performed 
public penance. The commander of the Roman legions 
thus yielded obedience to the defenseless bishop! A great 
moral and spiritual force, that of the Christian Church, was 
making itself felt in the repression of arrogance and violence. 

26. Ecclesiastical Organization. — With the tritmiph of the 
Church, the ecclesiastical hierarchy received its complete 
organization. The Bishop of Rome, by divine commission, 
exercized supreme authority over the universal Church. 
Under him four patriarchs governed the four great religious 
or political centres of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria and 
Constantinople. The Church was further divided into prov- 
inces ruled by metropolitans, and lastly into dioceses with 
bishops at their heads. 

This organization was based, in some particulars, on the 
existing civil administration; but it widely differed from the 
latter in the all-important question of its relation to the 
people. All vestiges of democracy had disappeared from 
the Roman political organism, whereas, in the Church, the 
people enjoyed very important rights. The faithful elected 
their bishops and, to a large extent, directly controlled local 
affairs and indirectly the general government of the Church. 
The bishops frequently met in assemblies or councils in 
which they discussed and solved the more important prob- 
lems affecting the Christian world. 

The various dioceses acquired large landed estates. These 



CHRISTIANITY AND ROME 27 

properties were managed by the clergy, who used the revenues 
for their own maintenance, the upkeep of places of worship, 
and the support of the poor. The church edifices were built 
in sumptuous proportions and generally had the shape of 
the old Roman basilicas. This name was applied in pagan 
Rome to the courthouses, i. e., spacious halls divided by 
several rows of columns and frequently containing a story of 
circular galleries. This form of building seemed appro- 
priate to hold the large number of faithful who met in 
Christian churches, which in this respect differed from the 
pagan temples, as the latter contained only the statue of the 
god to whom they were dedicated. 

Bibliography 

Allard, P., Ten Lectures on the Martyrs. (Benziger, New York, 1907.) 
Church, R. W., Christianity and Civilisation. (Macmillan, New York 

1914.) 
Fouard, C, The Christ the Son of God. 2 vols. (Longmans, New York 

1892.) 
Idem., St. Peter and the First Years of Christianity. {Ibid., 1893.) 
Idem., St. Paul and His Missions. {Ibid., 1894.) 
Idem., The Last Years of St. Paul. {Ibid., 1900.) 
Idem., St. John and the Close of the Apostolic Age. *{Ibid., 1906.) 
Kurth-Day, The Church at the Turning Points of History. (Naegele, 

Helena, Mont., 1918.) 
Riviere, J., The Expansion of Christianity. (Herder, St. Louis, 1915.) 
vShahan, Bishop T. J., The Beginnings of Christianity. (Benziger New 

York, 1903.) 
Uhlhorn, G., The Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism. (Scribner 

New York, 1899.) 

Historical Novels 

Newman, Cardinal J. H., Callista. (Longmans, New York, 1893.) 
Wallace, L., Ben-Hur. (Harper, New York, 1880.) 
Wiseman, Cardinal N., Fabiola. (vSadlier, New York, 1890.) 



CHAPTER II 

the emperors from tiberius to commodus (14-192) 
their internal administration 

Introduction 

27. The Dynasties of the First Two Centuries. — When 
Augustus died, no constitutional law settled the question 
of the succession. Rome, however, spontaneously submitted 
to the principle of heredity, being the more ready to do so 
since Augustus had already conferred most important 
powers on his stepson, whom he had made his associate in 
the government, and whom he named as his successor. 
The principle of heredity, however, was new, had no basis 
in the past, and could not be applied with assurance that it 
would be followed. In fact, the only law which decided the 
succession during virtually the whole imperial period was 
the will of the army. The army remained faithful to the 
family of Augustus out of gratitude and respect for his 
memory. It made the Julian emperors, so called after 
Julius Caesar; these were succeeded by the Flavian dynasty, 
which, in its turn, was followed by the Antonines. The 
following is a list of the emperors of these three dynasties. 
/. The Julian Emperors (14-68). {Romans.) 

1. Tiberius, 14-37, the tyrant. 

2. Caligula, 37-41, the madman. 

3. Claudius, 41-54, the fool. 

4. Nero, 54-68', the monster. 

The year 69 is marked by civil war between emperors 
proclaimed by rival legions. Galba, Otho, Vitellius and 
Vespasian fight for the imperial power and Vespasian issues 
triumphant from the struggle. 

//. The Flavian Emperors (69-96). {Italians.) 

1. Flavius Vespasian, 69-79. 

2. Titus, 79-81. 

3. Domitian, 81-96. 
28 



emperors: TIBERIUS TO COMMODUS 29 

///. The Auloniucs (96-192). {Provinciah.) 

1. Nerva, 96-98. 

2. Trajan, 98-117. 

3. Hadrian, 117-138. 

4. Antoninus Pius, 138-161. 

5. Marcus Aurelius, 161-180. 

6. Commodus, 180-192. 

With Septimius Severus (193-211), the first of the 
Barrack Emperors to succeed in firmly grasping the sceptre, 
the imperial crown passes from natives of Europe to African 
and, Syrian princes. 

I. The Julian Dynasty 

28. Tiberius (14-37).— At the death of Augustus, Tiberius, 
his stepson, who was then fifty-six years old, quietly assumed 
the reins of government. The people in Rome and in the 
provinces were fond of the imperial rule, because it meant 
for them peace and plenty. The senators alone regretted 
the loss of their f oiTner privileges ; but they were too corrupt 
to throw off the imperial yoke. Tiberius could rely on the 
support of the army, which he had commanded in Germany. 
But far from using this military strength to abuse his power, 
he gave for a time an excellent administration both to Italy 
and the provinces. His policy was based on justice and 
firmness. The choice of the governors of provinces was 
made according to merit, and their administration was 
subject to a strict supervision. Like Augustus, the new 
emperor w^as remarkable for his prudence and simplicity, 
but particularly for his economy, which enabled him to leave 
large funds in the imperial treasury at his death. 

Unfortunately, the year 23 A. D. marks a turning point 
in the history of Tiberius. The emperor fell under the 
influence of the infamous Sejanus, whose power from then 
until 31, the year of his sudden downfall, grew daily. The 
favorite completely controlled his imperial master and 
aspired to the throne. To effect his purpose, he had poison 



30 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

administered to Drusus, the emperor's son and heir, and 
determined to destroy the whole imperial family because it 
was an obstacle to the accomplishment of his designs. 
Tiberius himself was easily persuaded, by a telling picture 
of plots against his life in Rome, to retire to the island of 
Caprea (Capri) opposite Mount Vesuvius. While the 
emperor's retirement did not mean abdication, it is obvious 
that his favorite minister thereby gained greater freedom 
in the capital. Sejanus used it to his own advantage and 
against the "dangerous" relatives of Tiberius. It was 
only when he sought to do away with the emperor hin\self, 
and to place the crown on his own head, that his action was 
forestalled and his immediate execution followed (31). 

Tiberius ruled for six more years, haunted by superstitious 
terror and surrounded by astrologers. The following words 
which he himself addressed to the Senate depict better than 
anything else the tortures which he endured: "May the gods 
and goddesses inflict on me a worse death than that which 
I die daily, if I know what or how to write or what to refrain 
from writing." Executions and proscriptions of Roman 
patricians were resorted to in order to insure his personal 
safety, and the reign of terror lasted until his death (37). 
These cruel measures, however, only affected the aristocracy; 
an excellent administration continued to procure the pros- 
perity of the provinces. It was during the reign of Tiberius 
that our Lord was crucified at Jerusalem. 

29. The Emperors Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54). 
— Caius Caesar, surnamed Caligula, after the soldier's boot, 
"caliga," which he wore, succeeded his granduncle Tiberius. 
As son of Germanicus, the idol of Rome, his accession was 
hailed with the greatest enthusiasm throughout the empire 
and for a short time he justified the high hopes reposed in 
him. But, afflicted with epilepsy from his infancy, he fell 
dangerously ill about seven months after his accession. He 
recovered, but his mind was permanently affected, and he 
remained for the rest of his life a capricious madman. 



/ 



emperors: TIBERIUS TO COMMODUS v31 

Henceforth he was obsessed with one sole and fixed idea, that 
of his offiflrpotence*. This unhmited power he wished to 
exercize not only over men, but over Nature and the gods. 
He was to be honored in place of Jupiter, his wife being 
associated with him in this worship, and, what is more, his 
horse, which he intended to name consul. Human lives 
were not considered by him. He killed for the pleasure 
of killing and spared neither friends nor relatives. He was 
heard to exclaim one day, "would that the Romans had all 
but one neck," that thus he might kill them off with one 
stroke. The sword of a tribune of the "guard delivered the 
world from this madman. 

After Caligula's assassination, a restoration of the Republic 
seemed probable; but the soldiers were opposed to such a 
change and placed on the throne, in return for a large sum of 
money, Claudius, the brother of Germanicus and uncle of 
the murdered emperor. He was the first emperor proclaimed 
by the troops in consideration for a money pa^Tnent, a 
transaction which was to become popular at a later date. 
He has gone down in history with the surname of "the fool"; 
but he was perhaps weak rather than stupid. As the butt 
of the Julian family, he had not been well treated, and had 
divided his time between low company and the study of 
letters. He was fifty years old at his accession, and during 
his reign was controlled by intriguing favorites and un- 
worthy wives. His last wiffe, Agrippina, administered poison 
to him, to secure the succession of her son Nero to the 
throne. The internal administration of Claudius was 
marked by the admission of some Gallic noblemen to the 
senatorial dignity and the extension of the Roman citizenship. 
Abroad, Mauretania, Thrace, and South Britain were added 
as new provinces to the empire. 

30. Nero (54-68). — The first five years of Nero's reign 
constitute one of the most prosperous, just and beneficent 
periods of the empire. The young emperor (he was only 
seventeen when he began his reign) was under the excellent 



32 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

influence of the philosopher Seneca and the [general Burrus, 
whom his own mother had chosen for his preceptors and 
counsellors. But when his ambitious mother opposed his 
stepbrother Britannicus to him, because she was not able 
to seize the reins of government, he had Britannicus poisoned 
at a banquet, sought to get rid of his mother by drowning 
her, and, after the failure of this attempt, had her stabbed 
to death. He likewise had his young and innocent wife 
Octavia murdered. He was not only a monster of cruelty, 
but also insanely jealous, vain and hypocritical. He looked 
upon himself as a -skilful charioteer, a capable actor, and, 
above all, a highly gifted musical performer. He descended 
into the arena, declaimed verses in the theatre, played the 
lyre before public audiences, and would readily consider 
success superior to his own in these accomplishments as an 
offense punishable by death. But he has become known 
more especially as the first persecutor of the Christians 
(see No. 14). The number and enomiity of his crimes 
finally brought about his downfall. The legions in the 
provinces rebelled and proclaimed as emperor, Galba, the 
Governor of Spain. The example of the provinces was 
followed by the capital, and Nero, abandoned by all, took 
to flight. He sought refuge in the villa of a faithful f reed- 
man, where, as his pursuers were approaching, he committed 
suicide, uttering as his last words, "What an artist dies with 
me." In him died the last emp-eror of the Julian line. 

II. The Flavian Emperors (69-96) 

31. Vespasian (69-79). — Vespasian was the son of a tax- 
collector and was a native of Italy. Above all else a soldier, 
he had both the will and the ability to restore order in a 
distracted empire. Simple in his tastes, economical and 
industrious, he reintroduced discipline into the army, 
reformed the Senate, and reorganized the finances depleted 
by Nero's follies. He abolished the "Law of Majesty,',' 



emperors: TIBERIUS TO COMMODUS 33 

in virtue of which so many proscriptions had been decreed. 
He encouraged education by the appointment of teachers, 
hke Qitintilian, who were paid for the first time from the 
imperial treasury. He waged w^ar in Gaul, but his name 
and that of his son Titus are especially connected with the 
war in Judea. It was in the early part of the reign that 
Titus destroyed the city and the temple in Jerusalem (70). 
The name of this dynasty is also perpetuated by the gigantic 
Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Coliseum, which 
was begun during Vespasian's reign. It could accommodate 
more than 80,000 spectators, and still stands in part. Ves- 
pasian died a natural death, sarcastically remarking, as he 
felt his end near, and thought of the divine honors paid to 
the deceased emperors, *T feel that I am becoming a god." 
He was succeeded by his son Titus. 

32. Titus (79-81). — Titus reigned only for two years. 
His whole passion was the welfare of his people. *T have 
lost my day," he remarked on one occasion at the end of a 
day on which he had performed no good action. He has 
justly been called the "DeHght of Mankind." It was during 
his reign that the first known eruption of Mount Vesuvius 
took place and destroyed the two cities of Herculaneum 
and Pompeii. 

33. Domitian (81-96). — Domitian, brother of Titus, began 
his reign like Vespasian and ended it like Nero. The empire 
never knew a happier period than the first twelve years of 
his reign. Like his father, he insisted on the strict adminis- 
tration of justice, exercized watchful supervision over morals, 
save his own, and diligently repressed abuses, particularly 
in the provinces. Under him Agricola, the father-in-law of 
Tacitus, completed the conquest of Britain, and also reduced 
Scotland as far as a line drawn from the Firth of Forth to the 
Clyde. 

In 93 the emperor, probably through fear and covetous- 
ness, became a cruel tyrant. The "Law of Majesty," which 
punished with death the offenses, real or fancied, against 



34 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the person of the emperor, was again enforced. According 
to its provisions, the condemnation of the accused carried 
with it the confiscation of his property. Numerous execu- 
tions now followed. Fearing for his life, Domitian constantly 
changed the Pretorian Prefects. He also decreed the second 
persecution of the Christians, and, to safeguard his sover- 
eignty, had the surviving relatives of the Savior brought to 
Rome. St. John was the most illustrious sufferer in the 
persecution. He was cast into a caldron of burning oil, 
and on his survival banished to the Island of Patmos. The 
distrustful tyrant aroused the disgust of the members of 
his own household, his wife entered the conspiracy formed 
against his life, and he was stabbed to death (Sept. 18, 96). 
The Senate, overjoyed at the news, decreed the destruction 
of his monuments and the erasure of his name from public 
inscriptions. 

III. The Antonines (96-192) 

34. Name and Rule of the Antonines; Nerva (96-98). — 
The name of Antonines (from Antoninus Pius, the best ruler 
of this class) is applied to six emperors who, with the excep- 
tion of the last two, are connected only by the legal relation- 
ship of adoption. This method of choosing the rulers, 
introduced by Nerva, produced good results and gave the 
Roman State a series of excellent rulers. Their united reigns, 
covering almost a century, are considered one of the happiest 
periods in the history of mankind. The "Roman Peace" 
was disturbed only on the frontiers. 

Nerva was sixty-five years old when he was proclaimed 
emperor by the Senate. He was a beneficent, but not a 
strong ruler. He repaired some of the injustices committed 
by Domitian, recalled the exiles, and restored the confiscated 
property that was still in the state's possession. But his 
chief merit lies in the adoption of Trajan as his successor. 

35. Trajan (98-117). — Trajan, a native of Spain, was the 



emperors: TIBERIUS TO COMMODUS 35 

first non-Italian emperor. He was a capable soldier and an 
excellent administrator. He undertook two campaigns 
against the Dacians and one against the Parthians. Under 
him the empire, now at its greatest extent, was ruled with 
prudence, firmness, and benevolence. The emperor enter- 
tained good relations with the Senate, maintained the 
favorable dispositions of the people by games and gladiatorial 
combats, and further developed the system of state endowed 
charity introduced by Nerva for the rearing of the children 
of poor parents. Great public works were executed during 
his reign. In Rome the Forum of Trajan was laid out and 
ornamented with the famous column celebrating the em- 
peror's victory over the Dacians. In the provinces new 
roads, bridges, and aqueducts contributed to the material 
progress of the inhabitants. In grateful remembrance of 
him, the Senate adopted as greeting to his successors, 
"Be happier than Augustus and better than Trajan." 

36. Hadrian (117-138). — Hadrian, the first bearded Caesar, 
was a cousin of Trajan. His inquisitive mind and prodigious 
memory were natural incentives to acquire the varied and 
extensive knowledge which he possessed. He was simul- 
taneously a grammarian, rhetorician, philosopher, physician, 
poet, and architect. More important for a ruler were his 
qualities of a good general and an excellent administrator. 

A greater lover of peace than Trajan who had adopted 
him, he did not extend the frontiers of the empire; on the 
contrary, he withdrew from some of the outlying provinces 
occupied during the previous reign. His aim in this with- 
drawal was to stop at strong natural frontiers. In Britain 
he moved back the Roman forces from the Firth of Forth 
to the Tyne, and built as a protection against the incursions 
of the Caledonians a wall across the island, which was 
named after him the "Wall of Hadrian." A fortified line 
was also established from the middle course of the Rhine to 
the Danube, and military posts were maintained along the 
course of the latter river. In the East Hadrian abandoned 



36 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the provinces of Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Armenia, mak- 
ing the Euphrates the boundary of the empire. 

An indefatigable traveller, the emperor spent half of his 
reign in visiting the different parts of his dominions. His 
immense villa near Rome was a kaleidoscopic reproduction 
of the great monuments which he had seen and found most 
to his taste. In Rome, he built his famous Mausoleum, 
still admired by travellers from all countries, but now known 
as the castle of Sant 'Angela. 

The chief title to glory of this emperor lies in his reform 
of the imperial administration. It is from the time of 
Hadrian that the real administrative system of the empire 
dates. Up to his reign, the positions in the imperial offices 
were filled by freedmen. He decreed that free-born citizens 
should be appointed to them, thus assuring greater dignity 
to the administration and securing greater interest in state 
affairs. As regards justice, he collected all the edicts, pub- 
lished by the pretors anterior to his day, and united them in 
one systematic work, which became known as the perpetual 
edict. 

37. Antoninus Pius (138-161). — Hadrian's adopted son 
succeeded him. He was so much admired for his virtues 
that his name has been attached to this series of emperors. 
He bettered the condition of the slaves, ordering that they be 
treated as human beings, forbade the persecution of the 
Christians, maintained Trajan's charitable institution in 
favor of poor children, and created a similar organization 
for needy girls. No stirring events occurred during his 
reign. The undisturbed peace which prevailed earned for 
the emperor and his time the lasting and grateful remem- 
brance of his contemporaries and posterity. 

38. Marcus Aurelius (161-180). — Marcus Aurelius, his 
successor, was a philosopher , and on the throne remembered 
and lived up to his philosophical principles. He was kind, 
humane, disinterested, and spent his leisure moments in 
writing his "Meditations," a remarkable collection of exalted 



emperors: TIBERIUS TO COMMODUS 37 

thoughts of pagan philosophy. Like his predecessor, he 
extended his protection to the slaves and increased the 
number of benevolent institutions. He loved peace and had 
literary tastes, but circumstances forced him to spend most 
of his time in military camps. 

In spite of the beautiful sentiments expressed in his 
writings, his reign was marked by a severe persecution of 
the Christians. The persecution, however, was due more 
to an error of judgment than to cruel dispositions. Another 
grievous mistake on the emperor's part was to leave the 
empire to his worthless son. 

39. Commodus (180-192) .— Commodus came to the throne 
at the age of nineteen. As a boy of twelve, he gave an 
indication of his sanguinary instincts, when, finding his 
bath insufficiently heated, he ordered his bath attendant to 
be thrown into the furnace. But it was especially during 
his reign that this trait in his character revealed itself. He 
hastily concluded a shameful peace with the barbarians, and 
entered Rome in triumph, celebrating victories which he had 
not won. Neither the internal nor the external affairs of the 
empire occupied his thoughts. His one ambition was to 
distinguish himself in the arena as a gladiator, and the history 
of his reign is the history of his pleasures and murders. 
Poison put an end to the life of this insensate tyrant. 

Bibliography 

Bury, J. B., The Roman Empire, 27 B. C.-180 A. D. (American Book 
Co., New York, no date.) 

Capes, W. W., The Early Empire. (Scribner, New York, no date.) 

Idem., The Age of the Antonines. {Ibid., 1888.) 

Mommsen-Dickson, Provinces of the Roman Empire. 2 vols. .(Scrib- 
ner, New York, 1906.) 

Seeley, J. R., Roman Imperialism. (Roberts, Boston, 1871.) 

Suetonius-Tomson, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. (Gcbbe, Phila- 
delphia, 1885.) 



CHAPTER III 

THE EMPERORS, THEIR POWER AND INTERNAL ADMINIS- 
TRATION (193-476) 

I. The Barrack Emperors (193-284) 
40. Septimius Severus (193-211). — With the extinction 
of the Dynasty of the Antonines began again the bloody 
competitions for the imperial throne such as followed the 
extinction of the Julian Dynasty. The period extending 
from 193 to the accession of Diocletian in 284 has been 
called the period of the Barrack Emperors, owing to the 
fact that the emperors were set up by the army, and the 
imperial dignity was the sport and spoil of the legions. AW 
but four of these emperors died at the hands of their subjects 
who revolted against them, and of the four, two perished 
in wars. Three months after the assassination of Comamodus, 
the Pretorian Guards, who in the meantime had made and 
unmade one emperor, auctioned off the empire to the highest 
bidder. However, they had sold something it was not in 
their power to deliver, for, when the news of the disgraceful 
transaction reached the soldiers guarding the frontiers, each 
of the three provincial armies proclaimed its commander as 
emperor. The leader of the legions of the Danube, the 
African, Septimius Severus, defeated his opponents and be- 
came sole ruler (193-211). In order to consolidate his power, 
he disbanded the unworthy Pretorians, banished them from 
Rome, organized a new bodyguard of 50,000 legionaries, and 
decreed the execution of numerous senators who had sup- 
ported his rivals. Apart from these executions and the 
cruelty exercized towards the Christians, the administration 
of Septimius Severus was both prudent and efficient. He dis- 
played discerning judgment in the choice of officials, and was 
inexorable in the repression of abuses. The celebrated jurists 
of the day, Papinian, Ulpian, and Paulus, were his counsellors 
and friends. The emperor, however, was particularly active 

'38 



THE EMPERORS, 193-476 39 

as a military leader, and he spent most of his time on the 
frontiers, particularly in the East against the Parthians, and 
in the North against the Caledonians. It was during one of 
these northern campaigns that gout and fever caused his 
death at York in England (Feb. 4, 211). 

41. Caracalla (211-217). — Septimius Severus was suc- 
ceeded by his son Caracalla. . This monster of cruelty and 
debauchery not only murdered his own brother in his mother's 
arms, but ordered Papinian to vindicate the crime in a public 
argument. When the illustrious jurist declined, saying that 
"it was easier to commit such a crime than to justify it," he 
was put to death. Numerous other executions stained this 
reign; they were decreed frequently for the slightest reason 
or no reason whatever. 

Two events of the reign ought to be remembered: 

1. The granting of citizenship to all the free inhabitants 
of the empire. This liberal measure was published, not with 
the intention of conferring greater rights on the people, but 
with the aim of increasing the revenues of the imperial 
treasury. For certain taxes, paid only by Roman citizens, 
could now be levied from all the free inhabitants. 

2. The building of the Thermae or baths of Caracalla, one 
of the most imposing and magnificent structures of all time. 

42. Aurelian (270-275). — It would be tedious to mention 
the numerous emperors of this period. Only a few words 
will be added here concerning Aurelian, one of the most 
efficient soldier-emperors. Born of humble parents in Pan- 
nonia, he entered the military service at the age of twenty, 
and rose rapidly from dignity to dignity until he was pro- 
claimed emperor by his soldiers. He surrounded Rome 
with a strong wall of defense against the barbarians, aban- 
doned Dacia to the Goths in order to secure peace on the 
Danube, and scored a signal triumph in the East over Zen- 
ohia. This celebrated queen aimed at establishing an inde- 
pendent empire in the East in defiance of Rome. Aurelian 
marched against her armies, defeated them, besieged and 



40 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

reduced the capital Palmyra, and captured the queen her- 
self, who graced his triumph at Rome and was detained as a 
prisoner, with her family, until the end of her life. 

II. The Absolute Monarchy Established by 
Diocletian 

43. Diocletian (284-305); the Absolute Monarchy; Divi- 
sion of the Empire. — Some of the predecessors of Diocletian, 
like Hadrian, Septimius Severus, Aurelian and others, had 
largely or entirely disregarded the authority of the Senate. 
But the absolute form of government, the absolute monarchy, 
was formally established by Diocletian and completed in its 
organization by Const antine. This new form of govern- 
ment seemed to have become a necessity, as the "Dyarchy" 
or rule by emperor and Senate had proved a failure, and the 
arbitrary proclamation of emperors by the legionaries had 
'brought the state to the verge of ruin. 

Diocletian, the son of a freedman, was commander of the 
Pretorian Guard when the council of officers raised him to 
the imperial dignity. The new emperor made important 
changes in the Roman administrative system, which may 
be grouped under the two following headings. 

1. Division of the empire into four parts. 

2. Reorganization of the civil administration. 

In order the better to defend the peace and safety of the 
empire against the incursions of the barbarians and the 
power of usurpers in the provinces, Diocletian, ifi the very 
beginning of his reign, decided to divide the empire, without 
however destroying its unity, and to share his authority 
with his former companion-in-arms, Maximian. Maxi- 
mian became coregent, and, like Diocletian, assumed the 
title of Augustus. He ruled the West with his capital at 
Milan, while Diocletian governed the East with residence 
at Nicomedia. At a later date Diocletian further subdivided 
the Roman dominions by the creation of two subordinate 



THE EMPERORS, 193-476 41 

rulers, known as Caesars. Galerius became Caesar in the 
Fast with Sirmium, near the present Belgrade, as his capital; 
and Constantius Chlorus was appointed to the same dignity 
in the West with Treves as residence. There were thus two 
Augusti and two Caesars with four capitals and four ad- 
ministrations. 

Diocletian remained, in spite of the territorial divisions, 
supreme sovereign of the whole empire and introduced Oriental 
forms and great external splendor in court life. He adopted 
permanently the titles of Lord (dominus) and god (deus) ; 
prescribed that every one admitted to his presence should 
bend the knee, and wore around his forehead a diadem, 
that is, a fillet ornamented with pearls. He almost entirely 
suppressed the power of the Senate, which he did not even 
consult as a council of state. The appointment of the consuls 
was reserved to him, and the inhabitants sank from the rank 
of fellows-citizens to the position of subjects. 
**k4. Civil Administration; Increase tn the Number of 
Officials. — Diocletian divided the empire into 12 dioceses 
and 101 provinces, the term diocese being here understood 
in the sense of a civil administrative unit and not as desig- 
nating an ecclesiastical division. At the head of the dioceses 
were the Vicars, "vicarii"; at. the head of the provinces, the 
Governors, "praesides." The imperial officials were not only 
in charge of the civil administration, they were also the 
dispensers of justice. The salaries of these numerous 
officials in the government service, as well as the pay of the 
much increased army effectives, made a considerable raise 
in taxation necessary. Consequently the position and 
responsibility of the decurions, i.e., the members of the city 
senate who were accountable for the accurate and timely 
levy of the taxes, became such a heavy burden that many 
sought in flight relief from its obligations. The commander 
of the army was the emperor himself, or the "magistri 
militum," under whom the dukes — "duces" — exercized their 
authority. 



42 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

In this reorganization made by Diocletian, an administra- 
tion carried on by civil officials was substituted for the former 
military rule. Local autonomy and provincial assemblies 
gradually disappeared. 

'^ 45. Diocletian's Character and Abdication. — Diocletian 
was distinguished by consurrmate prudence, a keen knowl- 
edge of men, unyielding determination, and great thrift; 
he is, on the other hand, reproached with ambition and 
dissimulation. He pursued his opponents with relentless 
harshness. He restored order in the state and discipline in 
the army, and built sumptuous monuments, such as the 
Baths of Diocletian in Rome. His abdication, which took 
place in 305, was probably due to ill health. The once so 
powerful emperor now went into retirement at Salona in 
Dalmatia, where he unostentatiously devoted his time to 
agricultural pursuits. He died eight years later in 313. 

His system of Augusti and Caesars governing the empire 
did not meet with the success which he had expected from it. 
Shortly after his abdication civil war followed between rival 
candidates for the highest dignity. Order was restored 
eventually by the triumph of Const antine at the battle of the 
Milvian Bridge, and all power was again concentrated in the 
hands of one man when the same Constantine defeated his 
brother-in-law Licinius at the battle of Adrianople in 323. 

III. The Founding OF Constantinople ; Organ- 
ization AND Division of the Empire 

^46. Constantine founds Constantinople or New Rome on 
the Bosporus (330). — Wishing to give the empire a new 
capital, Constantine founded Constantinople on the site of 
ancient Byzantium. He was induced to make this founda- 
tion by a political and a religious motive. Political reasons 
demanded that the seat of empire be near the Danube, 
which was threatened by the Goths, and near the Euphrates, 
which was exposed to the incursions of the Parthians. As 



THE EMPERORS, 193-476 43 

for religion, it seemed desirable that the new faith should 
be given the opportunity of establishing itself with unre- 
stricted freedom in a new city where the memory of the 
ancient gods was less vivid. 

The site was remarkably well chosen. The new capital, 
located at a point where Europe and Asia meet, could, 
owing to its naturally strong position, be easily defended, 
and enjoyed the facilities of one of the best harbors in the 
world. The city was laid out on the Roman plan with 
forums, aqueducts, public baths, amphitheatres. Christian 
churches and pagan temples. Constantine invited the 
Roman aristocracy to this new city, forced the neighboring 
villagers to settle in it, and embellished it with artistic 
treasures brought from Greece. A special fleet was created 
to bring from Egypt the corn necessary for the sustenance 
of the inhabitants. The city grew very rapidly, it became 
the clearing house of the commerce between East and West, 
and its wealth and strong geographical position enabled it 
to resist all invasions for more than eleven centuries (330- 
1453)^ 

47. The Emperor's Absolute Power. — Constantine com- 
pleted the transformation of the empire into a well-organized 
autocracy. The assemblies, which, like the Senate, had 
been allowed to retain a nominal existence, were suppressed, 
and there remained only an emperor, officials, and subjects. 

The emperor surrounded himself with all the pomp of 
Oriental despots. He wore a purple robe and a crown of 
gold, and his subjects approached him with that fear and 
awe which are inspired by a god rather than a man. His 
person was sacred and his power unlimited in its character 
and almost universal in its extent. 

He was assisted in the government by a number of persons 
— ministers, who constituted the imperial household or 
palace. They formed with him the central administrative 
machinery, which controlled all things in the state. All 
orders were issued from the capital and were executed in 



44 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the provinces with promptness and precision. The civil, 
miHtary, and financial affairs were, for greater efficiency, 
handled by separate departments and controlled by different 
officials. 

As for the army, it resembled but faintly the military 
instrument which conquered the world. A legion comprised 
only 1 ,500 men, and the majority of the troops on the frontiers 
were barbarians. Thus incorporated in the army, the bar- 
barian invaders gained, slowly and unnoticed, admission 
into the empire. They constituted a most unstable source 
of defense and in fact, owing to the numerous desertions, 
they had to be branded with a red hot iron to force them to 
stay with the colors. The time was fast approaching when 
the once powerful empire would crumble under the blow of 
invasion. 

48. The Division of the Empire into Eastern and Western 
(395). — As already stated, the empire, which had again been 
united under Constantine, was divided into three parts at 
his death, and was governed by his three sons. In the course 
of the fourth century. East and West were frequently 
governed by different rulers. The permanent division into 
these two sections was made by Theodosius. According 
to his will he was succeeded at his death in 395 by his two 
sons: Arcadius and Honorius. Arcadius, then a boy of 
eighteen, became ruler of the East, whereas his brother 
Honorius, only eleven years old, received the West for his 
portion. The empire of the West lasted for less than a 
century (395-476) ; that of the East until 1453,, when Con- 
stantinople was conquered by the Turks. 

Bibliography 

Abbott, F. F., Roman Political Institutions. (Ginn, New York, 1902.) 
Arnold, W. T., The Roman System of Provincial Administration. (Black- 
well, Oxford, 1906.) 
Firth, J. B., Constantine the Great. (Putnam, New York, 1905.) 
Mattingly H., The Imperial Civil Service of Rome. (University Press, 
Cambridge, 1910.) 



CHAPTER IV 

DEFENSE OF THE EMPIRE. THE MIGRATION OF THE 
NATIONS 

I. Wars on the Rhine and the Danube 

49. The Frontiers of the Empire. — Augustus had sur- 
rounded the empire with a Hne of permanent camps, and 
had stationed in them troops who were to defend the Roman 
dominions against the barbarians. He hoped that, with the 
frontiers thus guarded, the empire might securely enjoy 
peace and prosperity. But this very prosperity acted as an 
incentive to the barbarians. Ever attracted by the prospect 
of booty, they incessantly attacked the Roman frontiers. 
The whole history of the empire is accordingly marked by a 
continuous series of wars waged by the Romans, no longer 
for conquest, but for the defense of their vast dominions. 

The sea, the Rhine, the Danube, the Euphrates, and the 
desert formed, as has been seen, the boundaries of the 
empire. The sea was a secure protection to Spain and to 
the coasts of Gaul; the Sahara desert with almost equal 
security defended the African possessions. But terrible 
enemies threatened the other frontier lines; on the Rhine 
and the Upper Danube, the German tribes of various names 
and under various leaders; on the Lower Danube, the 
Dacians; on the Euphrates, the Parthians. Partly favored 
by the troubles created for the central government by the 
wars in the East, the Jews rose in rebellion and the Jewish 
war followed. Moreover, the Romans, wishing to protect 
more effectually their northern frontier, undertook expedi- 
tions into Britain and occupied part of the island. 

50. Wars on the Rhine. — As the Germans across the Rhine 
were a constant menace to the Roman provinces, Augustus 
resumed Caesar's plan of reducing them to subjection. His 
general, Drusus, crossed the Rhine and conquered all the 

45 



46 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

territory to the Elbe. But the successful leader met an 
accidental death, and his successor Varus did not prove so 
able a commander. He was entrapped in the Teutoberg 
Forest by the German leader Arminius or Hermann, and 
was massacred with three of his legions (9 A. D.). The 
news of the dis^aster so affected Augustus that he is said to 
have been frequently heard to exclaim, "Varus, Varus, give 
me back my legions." 

The defeat was avenged only under the reign of Tiberius 
by Germanicus, who, after defeating the Germans, ravaged 
the territory of one of their tribes. The Romans, however, 
never succeeded in making the Elbe the permanent frontier 
of their empire. Domitian was again defeated on the Rhine, 
and under Trajan an artificial rampart was built to close the 
dangerous gap between the Rhine and the Upper Danube. 
This wall ran from Mainz to Ratisbonne, a distance of 336 
miles. In spite of this strong barrier, the tribe of the 
Alemanni, about 259 A. D., crossed the Rhine, invaded 
Switzerland and .southeastern France, and even ravaged 
northern Italy until it was defeated near Milan. 

About the same time the Franks swept through Gaul, and, 
spreading every where ruin and devastation, penetrated even 
into Spain. Under Diocletian they threatened again to 
cross the Lower Rhine, but were defeated with the other 
tribes stationed along the same river. 

51. Wars on the Upper Danube. — It was especially during 
the reign of Marcus Aurelius that the wars on the Upper 
Danube assumed importance. At that time the Marcomans 
and the Quadi crossed the river and proceeded as far as 
Greece and Italy. The news of the invasion struck terror 
into the Romans. As the best troops were then in the East, 
the emperor hurriedly gathered an army to resist the bar- 
barians. Several expeditions against them were necessary 
to secure their enforced retreat, and the city of Vienna had 
to be strongly fortified to prevent further raids. 

52. Wars on the Lower Danube, (a) Against the Dacians. — 



THE EMPIRE AND THE BARBARIANS 47 

The country across the Lower Danube, now known as Tran- 
sylvania and Rumania, was inhabited by the Dacians, a 
race as fierce as the GeiTnans. Their incursions into Roman 
territory w^ere a source of annoyance to the inhabitants and 
of displeasure to the emperors. Trajan undertook aj^^ainst 
them a determined and successful campaign, which lasted 
for five years (101-106). He built a military road along the 
Danube, threw a monumental bridge across it near the 
famous defile of the Iron Gate, and penetrated into the 
mountains of Transylvania. The capital of the Dacians 
had to submit to the Romans, and their King Decebalus 
committed suicide. In order to consolidate the Roman 
power in this region, which w^as, as it were, the centre of 
gravity of the empire, Trajan settled Roman colonists on 
the banks of the Danube and in the interior of the country. 
The Dacians were easily assimilated by their conquerors 
and adopted the Latin language and civilization. They 
soon formed but one people with the Roman settlers. Dacia 
became a new Italy, where the name of Rome is perpetuated 
today in the designation of Rumania. 

(6) Against the Goths. — In spite of Trajan's foresight, the 
Roman possessions on the Lower Danube were again to suffer 
from barbarian invasions in the third century. The powerful 
German tribe of the Goths then made raids into the Balkan 
provinces. During the reign of Decius two great Gothic 
armies crossed the Danube. They laid waste Moesia, 
Thrace and Macedonia, after which, laden with booty, 
they retraced their steps northward. Decius marched 
against these marauders, but was defeated in the first great 
battle he fought against them. In a second attempt to 
conquer them, he was not only defeated, but killed with his 
eldest son (251). The Goths from now on were ever trouble- 
some neighbors of the Romans on the Lower Danube. 
They were always ready to renew their raids on Roman 
territory, and even the abandonment of Dacia to them by 
Aurelian only appeased their land-hunger for a time. They 



48 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

were eventually to play a prominent part in the destruction 
of the Western Empire. 

II. Wars in the East 

53. Wars against the Parthians. — In the East, the most 
dangerous and elusive opponents of the Romans were the 
Parthians. Their daring horsemen ever sought to force the 
passage of the Euphrates. They were defeated by Crassus 
and later by Antony; but, though defeated frequently, they 
were never conquered. Numerous were the wars undertaken 
against them during the first three centuries of the Christian 
Era. They were defeated several times during Nero's 
reign; but Trajan and Marcus Aurelius had again to organize 
expeditions against them. Trajan's mihtary successes in 
the East added to the empire three new provinces, Armenia, 
Mesopotamia and Assyria. The conquest was only tem- 
porary, however, as the same territory was given up by his 
successor, to be reconquered in part by the generals of 
Marcus Aurelius. AVhen at a later date the Parthian king- 
dom was absorbed by the Persians, the struggle for a secure 
frontier was continued with varying success against the latter 
by the Roman emperors. 

54. War against the Jews (67-70) ; Siege and Capture of 
Jerusalem. — The frontier wars in the East were an incentive 
to revolt in some of Rome's Oriental dominions. The 
most celebrated of such insurrections was that of the Jews. 
Judea for. a considerable time (since 6 A. D.) had been 
administered by procurators. Roman rule in the province, 
long equitable and beneficent, became exceedingly tyrannical 
under Nero. Jewish patriotism and national sentiment, 
which had never yielded ready submission to Roman domina- 
tion, now broke out in a formidable insurrection in which 
thousands of Romans were massacred (65 A.D.) . Vespasian, 
the commander of the legions in the East, was appointed to 
suppress the rebellion. Two years of stubborn fighting 



■ THE EMPIRE AND THE BARBARIANS 49 

enabled him to reconquer Palestine, after frightful destruc- 
tion. He delayed laying siege to Jerusalem, knowing that 
anarchy was reigning in the city and slowly reducing its 
strength. When about to invest the fortress, he was pro- 
claimed emperor (69), and left for Rome, abandoning the 
command of the army to his son Titus. 

Titus appeared before the gates of the city with 60,000 
men in the spring of the year 70. The siege lasted five 
months and is one of the most famous sieges in history. 
Jerusalem ofifered a determined resistance; but was soon 
reduced to desperate straits by famine. Owing to the fact 
that just before the city was invested the Passover celebra- 
tions were being held, many Jews had flocked to their 
religious capital from foreign lands, and had more than 
doubled its population. Civil discord added its horrors to 
those of war with the foreigner; and to what extremities 
the population w^as eventually reduced can be readily 
surmised, when we are told that a mother, to satisfy the 
pangs of hunger, ate her own child. Those of the inhabitants 
who sought safety in flight from the city were captured 
by the Romans and nailed to crosses. 

In spite of the distress in the beleaguered city, the Romans 
for a long time made but little progress in their operations. 
When they succeeded in making a breach in the outer 
defenses, each house became a fortress which had to be 
reduced separately. When the second wall was carried, 
the Roman soldiers found themselves before the temple, 
which by itself formed a strong citadel. Here the religious 
fanatics, known as zealots, had taken refuge, and, with the 
resolution born of despair, offered strenuous resistance to 
the conquering legions. Titus probably wished to preserve 
the temple, but a soldier threw a brand into the building; a 
fire ensued and consumed the edifice and its treasures. 
Not only the temple but the whole city was destroyed, and 
the words of the Savior were verified, that there would not 
be left in it a stone upon a stone. It is said that one million 



50 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Jews perished in the siege, and that 100,000 more were sold 
into slavery by Titus. The historical significance of the 
destruction of Jerusalem lies in the fact that with it ended 
the political existence of the Jewish people. Since then 
the Jews have lived scattered among foreign nations. 

III. Wars in Britain 

55. Britain and the Julian Emperors. — The wars waged 
in Britain were, in appearance at least, of a more aggressive 
character than those so far described. Previous to the 
Christian Era, Julius Caesar had visited Britain. His 
expeditions to the island (55 and 54 B.C.), however, are 
more famous for the description of the country and its 
inhabitants, which that able general and writer has left us, 
than for the military results which crowned his enterprises. 
Caesar merely taught the inhabitants a lesson; he did not 
attempt the conquest of their territory. The systematic 
conquest of the island was undertaken under Claudius, who 
held that Roman Gaul could not be secure so long as Britain 
was independent. The em^peror himself for a short time 
took part in the war, and Roman power was established as 
far as the Thames and the Severn during his reign. Under 
Nero the Roman possessions were further increased by the 
subjugation of the hill-tribes of the West and by the reduc- 
tion of Mona or Anglesey, the centre from which the Druids 
maintained a powerful agitation. 

56. Julius Agricola in Britain. — An extensive forward 
movement in the colony was undertaken by Julius Agricola, 
Governor of Britain from 78 to 85. He subjugated and 
pacified the island as far as the mountains of Scotland. 
He even turned his arms against the wild Caledonians, as 
the inhabitants of Scotland were then called, skirted the 
north coast of Scotland with a fleet, and contemplated the 
conquest of Ireland. But he was recalled before he could 
carry out his far-reaching plans. He had had time, however, 



THE EMPIRE AND THE BARBARIANS 51 

to erect a line of forts, stretching from the Firth of Forth to 
the Clyde. But in spite of this strong defense, control over 
this distant country was neither easy nor complete, and the 
peaceful Hadrian, abandoning the northernmost territories, 
built a solid wall of stone running from the mouth of the 
Tyne to the mouth of the Solway. In his plan this was to 
be Rome's scientific frontier in the north. His successor 
Antoninus Pius, however, went back to the former more 
northern limits, and, like Hadrian, built a wall stretching 
across the island following the line of Agricola's forts. The 
two boundary walls go under the names of the emperors 
under whom they were erected. That of Antoninus Pius, 
however, w^as hardly ever defended with determination. 
The Emperor Septimius Severus spent indeed several years 
in the island, and successfully waged war against the savage 
tribes of the North ; but with his death this resistance came 
to an end, and Hadrian's wall became the permanent bound- 
ary line in Britain. The end of the third century was 
marked, here as elsewhere, by attempts of the legions to 
name emperors, and dissensions and strife ensued; Dio- 
cletian's reforms, however, enabled Rome to wield again 
w^ith firmer hand her power in this part of the empire. 

IV. Migration of the Nations; Fall of the 

Empire 

57. Emigration into the Empire. — The barbarians, it has 
already been stated, were at an early date admitted into the 
Roman military service, and were stationed on the frontiers. 
As the native Romans became more and more disinclined 
and unfit for the profession of arms, the necessity arose of 
opening to the barbarians the ranks of the legions garrisoned 
in the interior. Barbarian soldiers soon did duty in many 
of the empire's most prosperous cities. 

But Rome lacked not only soldiers; she needed laborers 
as w^ell. These also w^ere found among the barbarians. 



52 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Farm hands were imported from Germany and were settled 
in the agricultural districts as colonists. They became 
attached to the soil and were generally sold with the land on 
which they lived. The number of such soldiers and colonists 
increased the more rapidly as the barbarians were fervent 
admirers of Rome, its wealth, its dignities and its culture. 
Many a barbarian chief sent his sons to Rome for their 
education; many a barbarian king solicited a title from the 
emperor. This open, but little noticed, conquest, or to 
use a modern expression, this peaceful penetration of the 
empire was successfully carried on, long before the great 
invasions occurred and completed the work. "The bar- 
barians are ever^^thing," exclaims an ancient writer; "not 
one of our families is without a Goth in its service. In 
our cities the mason, the water-carrier, the porter are Goths." 
The barbarians even rose to high positions, first in the army 
and then at court. In 395, the dying Theodosius designated, 
as prime minister for his son Honorius, the Vandal Stilicho, 
to whom he had given one of his nieces in marriage. 

58. Character of the Armed Invasions. — The armed 
invasions, excepting that of the Huns, were not, like military 
expeditions, undertaken for the destruction of an enemy or 
the conquest of •a territory. They were rather migrations 
of nations: men, women and children bringing with them 
their cattle and their belongings. The invaders were not 
animated by hostile sentiments toward the countries which 
they traversed. But this almost countless multitude of 
people necessarily ravaged everything to obtain sustenance, 
consumed all foodstuffs and fodder along its line of march, 
and hence its coming was the worst of misfortunes. 

In the fifth century, the barbarians found an almost com- 
pletely open road affording entrance into the empire. They 
experienced no difficulty in crossing the frontier, which was 
guarded only by other barbarians. They could freely pass 
from province to province, for the armies which opposed 
them in the interior were greatly inferior to them as a 



THE EMPIRE AND THE BARBARIANS 53 

fighting force. The Romans had lost the science and art of 
war and did not possess in the same degree as their barbarian 
adversaries the passion for strife and the contempt for 
death. 

59. Causes of the Invasions.— While one cause of the 
invasions must be sought in the warlike dispositions of the 
German tribes, another is furnished by the unmistakable 
decline of the Roman state. To these factors must be 
added the migration of the Huns advancing from the East 
(Asia) and pushing the Germans west and southward. The 
Huns, like the Turks, belonged to the yellow race; they were 
Asiatics and more savage than the Germans. As early as 
the second century of the Christian Era they were established 
around the Caspian Sea. In the fourth century they 
pushed westward, passing north of the Black Sea through 
the territory of the Slavic barbarians, who, in spite of the 
devastations of the invaders, remained on their settlements. 
The Huns reached the country inhabited by the Germans 
toward the end of the same century. Unlike the Slavs, the 
Germans abandoned their country, fled before the invaders 
and threw themselves on the empire in the hope of finding 
protection and a new home. With this contact between the 
Huns and the Germans began the general flight toward the 
Roman world and, consequently the migration of the nations. 

60. The Visigoths cross the Danube and later found an 
Independent Kingdom in France and Spain. — In 375 the 
advance of the Huns westward threatened the Visigoths with 
extinction. In order to escape from the invading hordes, 
some of them took refuge behind the Carpathians in Transyl- 
vania. The bulk of the nation, however, crossed the Danube 
and sought safety in Roman territory. The Emperor Valens 
gave them grants of land in the Balkan Peninsula on con- 
dition that they defend the Danube frontier against new 
invaders. The agreement was not faithfully observed by 
the Romans, and war ensued between them and the Visigoths. 
In the decisive battle of Adrianople, fought in 378, Valens, 



54 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

who commanded the Roman armies in person, was defeated 
and killed. However, though the triumph of the Visigoths 
was complete, the Emperor Theodosius the Great shortly 
afterward succeeded in pacifying them by assigning to them 
homes in Thrace. But it was not long before they resumed 
their wanderings. Under a powerful leader named Alaric 
(395-410) they pushed southward and devastated Macedonia 
and Greece (395-96). The emperor of the East, Arcadius, 
made over to them more Roman territory, but even these new 
concessions did not prevent attacks first on northern and 
then on central Italy. In 410, Alaric captured Rome and 
gave it up to the pillage of his soldiers for three days. It was 
an irreparable blow to the prestige of the Roman name and 
to the inviolable character of the once powerful metropolis. 
Alaric, however, had not come to stay; he proceeded south- 
ward, but died as he was about to cross over to Africa. His 
successor led the Visigoths to southern France, where they 
settled perm.anently in 419. Their kingdom included 
not only a large part of Gaul, but also Spain, and lasted 
until 711, when it was destroyed by the Mohammedans. 

61. Conquests made by Other German Tribes in the 
Western Empire.^ — The withdrawal of Roman troops from 
Gaul and Britain, necessitated by the wars with the Visi- 
goths, furnished other barbarians with the opportunity to 
break through the Roman frontier defenses. 

1. The Alemanni. — Toward the end of the third century 
the Alemanni had already occupied the Roman possessions 
lying on the right bank of the Rhine. Later these bar- 
barians also took possession of Alsace. 

2. The Franks. — Further north the Franks crossed the 
Rhine and established themselves in Gaul. 

3. The Alani, Vandals, and Sueves. — Members of these 
three tribes traversed Gaul and took possession of Spain. 
The Sueves established a kingdom in northwestern Spain, 
which, however, was destroyed at an early date by the 
Visigoths. It lasted from 409 to 585. More important 



THE EMPIRE AND THE BARBARIANS 55 

than either they or the i\lani were their kinsmen, the Vandals. 
These were the least civilized among the Germanic tribes. 
Shortly after their settlement in Spain, they gladly accepted 
the invitation of the Roman general, Boniface, to pass into 
Africa and to help him to win his ownindependence from 
the Eastern Empire. Under their intrepia leader, Genseric, 
they arrived on that continent in 429 and established a 
kingdom of their own with Carthage as its capital. From 
here their ships pillaged the coasts of the western Mediter- 
ranean and even the city of Rome (455) . Their power was 
destroyed in 534 and their territory again incorporated in 
the Eastern Empire. 

4. The Burgundians. — These founded a kingdom on the 
Middle Rhine with their capital at Worms. But defeated 
by the Huns in 437, they proceeded southward and were 
granted territory by the Romans in southeastern Gaul. 

5. The Jutes, Saxons and Angles. — About the middle of 
the fifth century began also the invasion of Britain by the 
Saxons, Angles, and Jutes, which will be more conveniently 
spoken of later ^ 

62. Attila and the Invasion of the Huns. — In 444, Attila, 
the most terrible and most powerful ruler of his day, became 
King of the Huns.. He delighted in calling himself the 
"Scourge of God," and partly for this reason he is almost 
exclusively known today as the terrible military leader of 
cruel barbarian hordes. He was, however, not only a great 
general, but also a prudent and skilful diplomatist. His 
sumptuous court, amid the surroundings of which he alwajs 
lived with great simplicity, was the real centre of Europeah 
life; ambassadors, artists, generals and statesmen met here 
and enhanced in the eyes of the world the prestige and power 
of the ruler of the Huns. 

His vast empire was inhabited principally by Germans 
whom he had subjugated. It seems to have extended from 
the frontiers of Gaul to the Caspian Sea and from the Lower 
Danube almost to the Baltic, It formed, fiowever, only a 



56 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

loose confederation of states : the conquered nations retained 
their kings and were bound only to pay tribute and to per- 
form military service. 

Like other barbarians, the Huns first attacked the Eastern 
Empire and laid it under tribute. Quarrels among the 
members of the imperial family which governed the Western 
Empire furnished Attila with a pretext for war. Honoria, 
the sister of Valentinian III, dissatisfied with the restrictions 
imposed on her at court, offered her hand in marriage to Attila. 
In reply the King of the Huns dispatched an embassy to the 
emperor which expressed his willingness to admit Honoria 
among his numerous wives and demanded the cession of 
half of the Western Empire as her dowry. The demand 
was refused, and Attila at the head of 500,000 men crossed 
the Rhine and invaded Gaul. He destroyed Metz and 
other cities on his way and laid siege to Orleans. The city 
was about to fall into his hands when Aetius appeared with a 
Roman army. Confronted by this enemy, Attila retreated 
northward and awaited the hostile army in the vast 
plains along the Marne where his cavalry could maneuver 
freely. Here at Chalons in 451 the Asiatic hordes 
on the one hand, and the Rom.an and Germanic world 
on the other, engaged in a terrific battle. i\t the end 
the honors of the day lay with the Romans and their 
German allies. Attila recrossed the Rhine and returned 
to Pannonia (Hungary) . Despite this reverse, he devastated 
North Italy in 452, but was induced by Pope Leo the Great 
not to attack Rome. After his interview with the Pope, 
in which moral influence triirmphed over material strength, 
weakness over force, the powerful commander retreated 
with his army toward his dominions on the Danube. He 
died a sudden death shortly afterwards and his empire dis- 
appeared with him (453). 

63. Odoacer and the Fall of the Western Empire (476). — 
Aetius, the conqueror of Attila and "the last of the Romans," 
as he has been called, was murdered by Valentinian III in 



THE EMPIRE AND THE BARBARIANS 57 

454. After his death the real power over Italy was exercized 
by the commanders of the German mercenaries, who made 
and unmade emperors at will in the country of which they 
had taken possession. Not only were these emperors at 
the mercy of a foreign soldiery, but they could in no sense 
be considered the rulers of all the West, since Illyricum, 
Gaul, Spain, Africa and Britain were in the hands of various 
barbarian nations. About 474 the German troops in Italy 
were commanded by the Roman Orestes. He used his 
military power to place his son Romulus, a boy of six, on the 
throne of the Caesars. This action was shortly after followed 
by a mutiny among the mercenaries headed by Odoacer. 
At the head of his troops, which were probably mainly com- 
posed of Heruli, Odoacer captured Rome and deposed the 
child emperor Romulus, who had in the meantime been 
nicknamed Augustulus or Little Augustus. Thus, by a 
strange coincidence, the last emperor who resided in Rome 
bore the name of the founder of the city and the name of the 
organizer of the empire. Odoacer assumed the title of 
"King of the Germans" in Italy. The Western Empire thus 
ceased to exist in fact, and Italy, like the rest of the West, 
was in the hands of the barbarians (476). 

Bibliography 

Bradley, H., The Goths. (Putnam, New York, 1888.) 

Creasy, E. S., The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. (Burt, New 

York, no date.) 
Hodgkin, Italy and Her Invaders. 8 vols. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 

1892-99.) 
Jones, H. S., The Roman Empire. (Putnam, New York, 1908.) 
Villari, P., The Barbarian Invasions of Italy. 2 vols. (Scribner, New 

York, 1902.) 



CHAPTER V 

ROMAN LIFE AND CIVILIZATION DURING THE EARLY CEN- 
TURIES 

I. Classes and Customs of Roman Society 

64. The Senatorial Order. — The Emperor Augustus 
divided Roman society into three very distinct classes: 
(1) The senatorial order; (2) the equestrian order; (3) the 
plebeian order. 

Formerly the Senate itself was designated as the senatorial 
order. From the time of Augustus, the name was applied 
to a class of citizens who were eligible to the highest public 
offices and were candidates for a seat in the Senate. They 
had to fulfill several conditions to be admitted into the order. 
They must obtain an imperial nomination with the senatorial 
insignia, possess a private fortune not below one million 
sesterces or about §50,000, and receive the title "clarissimus," 
most illustrious. Membership was hereditary in the male 
line, provided the fortune remained at or above the specified 
minimum. This condition was, however, not easy of ful- 
filment for persons who had to serve in public ofhce gratui- 
tously, and who were not allowed to engage in commercial 
and financial operations or contract wealthy marriages 
outside their order. Not unfrequently, members of the 
order, to maintain their rank, needed assistance from the 
imperial treasury. 

Appointed by the emperors, the senators were very often 
docile tools in the hands of imperial despotism. Theoretically 
they enjoyed the legislative power and the right of electing 
and deposing the emperors; but in practise they made little 
use of this twofold privilege. The Senate was also a supreme 
court of justice and was the only competent tribunal in 
criminal offenses committed by its own members. 

65. The Equestrian Class. — Below the senatorial order 
was the equestrian class. It comprised the citizens, who, 

' 58 



ROMAN LIFE AND CIVILIZATION 59 

being worth at least 400,000 sesterces, or about $20,000, 
had been registered by imperial order among the "equites" 
or knights. From among them the emperor chose the 
imperial officials, such as the military officers and the financial 
administrators. The senatorial and equestrian class formed 
the new imperial aristocracy. 

66. The Plebeian Order. — The citizens who did not belong 
to either of the above two classes formed the plebeian order. 
The rights of this class were neither considerable nor ex- 
tensive. However, there was some attempt at self-better- 
ment, for, realizing the fact that an individual, acting alone, 
is unable successfully to defend himself, the different mem- 
bers of the same trade organized themselves into associations 
or unions, "Collegia." These unions increased wonder- 
fully and were after a while officially recognized in the empire. 
Their presidents vindicated the rights of the members 
before the provincial magistrates, and at times even before 
the emperors. 

67. Slavery. — Outside "Rom.an society, under the empire 
as well as the republic, were the unfortunate slaves. Their 
position in the Roman State during the later republican 
period will be sufficiently realized if the words of Varro be 
remembered that they were "vocal agricultural implements." 
Their condition improved, however, under the empire, 
partly owing to a more humane pagan philosophy and 
particularly owing to the influences of Christianity. A law, 
which probably dates back to Nero's reign, forbade, under 
certain circumstances, the selling of slaves. Other prohi- 
bitions took away from the masters the right to kill or 
mutilate them. Gradually but slowly slavery was to be 
supplanted by serfdom. This process, though begun in the 
fourth century, was not completed until long after the fall 
of the Western Empire. 

68. The Workday of a Roman. — At Rome, as in most hot 
climates, the activities of the day began at a very early 
hour. At sunrise a stream of clients wended its way to the 



60 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

residences of the aristocracy. They went to offer greetings, 
to soHcit the appointment to an office or to ask for an invita- 
tion to dinner. The morning hours were devoted to business 
transactions, to pubHc lectures and to meetings, in which 
the latest news and current events were discussed. It was 
also in the forenoon that weddings were celebrated, birthday 
parties given, and outings enjoyed on the great social thor- 
oughfare, the Appian Way. 

The business day came to an end at one o'clock in the 
afternoon. A bath was then indulged in, either at home, or 
preferably in one of the numerous and magnificent thermae. 
These thermae or public baths were the centres of social 
intercourse in Rome. Here the Roman met his friends, 
played or watched the games, and found distraction in 
gossiping, wrestling, or listening to a concert. About three 
o'clock all classes of society partook of their principal meal. 
The poor ate in inns remarkable for their filthiness and their 
cheap prices. The wealthy dined at home and usually pro- 
longed their dinner till a late hour. Even the best among 
them spent two or even three hours at table. It was for 
them a time of rest and recreation, during which they en- 
joyed the pleasing conversation of a friend or were amused 
by musicians, comedians, and dancers. With the spread of 
corruption in the empire, the number grew ever larger of 
those who spent the night in eating and drinking and gave 
themselves up to debauchery. 

II. Education in Rome 

69. A Roman School-Day. — Earlier even than the early 
Roman business day, the school-day began before dawn, 
and the children were obliged to carry lamps in winter time. 
The scholars were usually accompanied on their way by a 
servant who had charge over them. The classes lasted 
probably about six hours. Hard work was required of the 
pupil, and energetic means were used to encourage him. 



ROMAN LIFE AND dVILIZATTON 61 

The copying of texts was among the punishments inflicted; 
but to this the more efficacious means of the switch, the whip, 
or the leather strap was usually preferred. Numerous 
holidays provided pleasant interruptions of the school- 
work, and a long summer vacation contributed its share to 
make the student's life bearable. 

At the age of seven the young Roman began his studies 
under the **literator" or schoolmaster; at the age of twelve 
he passed to the grammarian, and from him to the rhetorician 
at the age of sixteen. After a course in rhetoric, students 
frequently went abroad, to Athens, Alexandria, or other 
centres of learning, to complete their education. 

70. Subjects of Study; Social Position of the Teacher. — 
At the elementary schools of the literator, the child was 
taught the first rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic. 
With the grammarian, the Greek and Latin authors were 
studied. The authors were read aloud, and questions were 
asked on geography, mythology, and other subjects. These 
grammar schools were conducted indoors. If the teacher 
enjoyed the good will of the city authority, he obtained the 
use of a room in a public building ; otherwise he had to rent 
a room at his own expense. The classes were usually large. 
The lecturer sat on a high chair, while the pupils occupied 
benches. The grammarian generally belonged to a humble 
class. His life was a hard one; a great deal was expected 
for little pay, and even this pittance was frequently withheld 
by the parents on the plea that the child had made no 
progress. The parents also annoyed the teacher with 
questions to test his knowledge. Inability to answer these, 
ridiculous as they often were, resulted in the loss of a pupil 
or his fee, or perhaps both. Since school began before 
dawn, the grammarian was often made the butt of insults 
and criticisms by those who w^ere disturbed in their slvunber 
through the recitation of the pupils. 

By the grammarian the pupils were promoted to the school 



62 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

of the rhetorician, where they began to train in a special 
manner for a pohtical or legal career, or for any other pro- 
fession which they intended to adopt in later years. They 
were now listeners rather than pupils, and witnessed, and 
at times took part in, oratorical contests. But little atten- 
tion was paid to art and still less to the sciences. The 
teacher of rhetoric was more highly regarded than the 
grammarian, and sometimes secured a good income from 
his profession. Since it was the chief aim of the rhetorician 
to train the student in eloquence, he could teach in almost 
any place, and prided himself on being prepared anywhere 
for practise. He lectured in the public baths, under the 
porticoes, or even in the open air. 

71. The Roman State and Education. — During the repub- 
lican period the care of education w^as left entirely to private 
initiative. No conditions w^re imposed, no degree of scholar- 
ship and no certificates w^ere required of the teacher ; anybody 
might open a school, just as any one might open a store. 
All responsibility for the proper education of their children 
was left to the parents whose concern it was to select comx- 
petent teachers. Under the empire a change occurred in this 
policy, and the state began to interest itself in educational 
matters. The Emperor Trajan provided for the education 
of 5,000 Italian children. Hadrian created and maintained 
at his own expense numerous schools in the provinces. He 
also .founded the Athenaeum, a large public institution, in 
which rhetoricians delivered lectures in Latin and Greek. 
Alexander Severus established schools in many towns with 
the stipulation that poor children must be admitted to them 
for one year. Despite these instances of imperial generosity, 
the towns usually furnished the larger part of the expenses 
incurred for educational purposes. The encouragement 
extended by the state to education produced excellent general 
results and also rendered the teaching profession less pre- 
carious and more honorable. 



ROMAN LIFE AND CIVILIZATION 63 

TIL Public Amusements and Social Conditions 

72. Public Holidays; The Gladiatorial Combats.— A large 
part of the year of every Roman was made up of public 
holidays. Out of 365 days 135 were holidays under Marcus 
Aurelius. Among these are not included even the ex- 
traordinary days of public amusement which lasted some- 
times for months. To the theatrical representations and 
the chariot races of the Republican period were added under 
the Empire the athletic games and the combats of the amphi- 
theatre. The athletic games became frequent after Augustus, 
but with the masses they never enjoyed the popularity of the 
gladiatorial combats. The gladiators were recruited in 
several w^ays; they were frequently prisoners captured in 
war or criminals arrested for some misdeeds, at times also 
freemen who voluntarily took up the profession. Then, too, 
slaves were not unfrequently trained as gladiators by their 
owners and hired out for public games. Domitian founded 
four imperial schools of gladiators near the Coliseum, and 
similar institutions were established in the provinces. 

The gladiators fought on foot, on horseback, or on chariots ; 
they were opposed in pairs or in groups. Under the empire 
games were given, in which as many as 500 pairs of gladiators 
fought among themselves. Before the combat they appeared 
in procession before the emperor, saying: "Hail, Caesar, 
those who are about to die, greet thee." A gladiator, after 
being w^ounded, raised his finger to ask for mercy. If the 
spectators w^ere inclined to indulgence, they waved their 
handkerchiefs; the thumb, pointed downwards, was, on the 
contrary, a sentence of death. No mercy was shown to 
cowards. The dead bodies were removed with iron hooks 
by slaves; the application of a red hot iron decided whether 
death was real or feigned. Those wounded beyond possibility 
of recovery were dispatched in the mortuary chamber. These 
spectacles, so bloody and revolting in character, formed 
the delights of the Roman people. 



64 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

73. Combats of Wild Beasts; Naval Battles. — Even com- 
bats of wild beasts were staged in the amphitheatre. The 
beasts either fought among themselves or were opposed by 
gladiators, more particularly know^n as "bestiarii." The 
sole weapon of these gladiators was a lance or sometimes a 
sword. The amphitheatre was likewise the scene of 
capital executions. Persons condemned to death were 
delivered up defenseless to the wild beasts. This was the 
penalty which was most frequently inflicted on the Christian 
martyrs. On certain occasions also the arena was flooded, 
and naval battles were fought in it. The emperors spared 
no pains to satisfy the bloodthirsty instincts of the multitude, 
and directed with the utmost care the organization of all 
public festivals. 

74. Political and Family Life, Social Conditions. — The 
republican period of Roman history was marked by intense 
activity in political life and by an austere simplicity in the 
family relations. But under the emperors the people lost 
all interest in public affairs, as the imperial will was the sole 
and supreme law and neither senate meetings nor popular 
assemblies could exert any influence on the destinies of the 
empire. The Forum, formerly the busy scene of popular 
agitation, was now silent, and eloquence almost a dead art. 

Family life, too, fell a prey to moral corruption. Idleness 
and pleasure seemed to be the chief concerns in the life of a 
Roman. The emperors encouraged these tendencies, by 
providing, in order to prevent insurrections, food and 
amusement for the people. Their aim in the government 
was "peace in the provinces; bread and amusements in 
Rome." To satisfy an ever more exacting populace, they 
expended with unheard-of extravagance the funds of the 
state treasury. Rome became a city of beggars with a 
passion for amusement and a horror of work. The less 
needy of its inhabitants became the clients of the nobility 
whose atria they crowded every morning waiting for the 
"sportula," viz., the little basket of provisions. The lower 



ROMAN LIFE AND CIVILIZATION 65 

classes lived entirely on the ])ublic distributions of wheat 
and on the donations of some wealthy personages. To 
fill their idle hours, amusements, in constantly increasing:: 
number, had to be i)r()vided by the i)ul)lic authorities and 
were paid for out of the imperial treasury. 

75. Moral Life. — As to the morals of this period, the 
less said, the better. Two words will sum up their char- 
acter: voluptuousness and cruelty. Their voluptuousness 
is sufficiently apparent in the sumptuous repasts, the nights 
s])ent in eating and drinking, the promiscuous character of 
the public baths, and the revolting immorality of theatrical 
representations. Their cruelty is abundantly evidenced by 
the brutal treatment meted out by noble matrons to their 
unfortunate female slaves for the slightest offenses, and b}^ 
the bloodthirsty scenes in the amphitheatre, in which even 
the Roman ladies took a prominent and dishonorable part. 

IV. Roman Law and Art 

76. Roman Law. — The two distinctive creations of Roman 
genius were Roman Law and Roman Architecture. Both 
owed their origin to the practical needs of the Romans in 
the government of the world. After conquering the uni- 
verse, they ruled it in a masterly manner and organized a 
most perfect administrative system. They framed for their 
dominions a uniform code of laws and trained an efficient 
body of officials. These two things — uniformity and 
efficiency — were essential for the effective exercize of the 
emperors' absolute power in territories beyond their im- 
mediate control. They were forced to rely in such provinces 
on subordinates for the execution of their orders, and their 
officials themselves needed the guidance of definite laws. 
The merit of establishing the Roman administrative system 
on this firm and practical basis must be ascribed to the 
Emperor Hadrian. He introduced the coordination of the 
various government departments, the graded system of 



66 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

offices, and the regular promotion of officials "cursus hono- 
rum." Where the people had so far been at the mercy of 
the whimsical rulings of pretors, he established a general 
law or code applicable everywhere. It was based on pre- 
cedent and existing laws, and was called the perpetual edict. 
It defined the rights and duties of every citizen in his rela- 
tions with his fellow-citizens and with the state. A perma- 
nent civil code thus became the basis of human institutions. 
The Roman Law outlasted the Roman State. It has been 
used in various forms as an instrument of government in 
many countries and is studied even today by all civilized 
nations. 

77. Roman Art. — In the arts the Romans borrowed largely 
from the Greeks. Instead of founding schools of sculpture, 
they imported their statues from Greece, where,, on account 
of slave labor, works of art were produced at a reasonable 
price. Their great paintings also were either bought in 
Greece or were spoils of war. The only art in which they 
excelled and on which they impressed their distinctive 
character was architecture. While they borrowed from the 
Greeks even in the building art, they added their own original 
contributions in the following characteristics: adaptation 
for utilitarian purposes, enormous proportions, the vault, 
the arch, and the cupola. 

Many of the emperors were great builders. The monu- 
mental structures which they reared, generally had for their 
object public utility or popular amusement. They built 
public baths, theatres, temples, basilicas or courts of justice, 
and other such monuments. Imposing buildings were 
erected not only in Rome, but also in the provincial cities. 
"Augustus sought to make Rome outwardly worthy of her 
great imperial position, and to foster the pride which the 
Romans took in the queen of cities. The grandeur of its 
pubHc buildings was to serve as proof of its majesty, its 
prosperity, and its permanence." The successors of 
Augustus, imitating his example, likewise sought to embellish 



ROMAN LIFE AND CIVILIZATION 67 

the capital. Like him also they built and improved roads, 
promoting travel and encouraging commerce. As the 
Country was no longer engaged in wars, soldiers were em- 
ployed in the arts of peace. It was owing largely to them 
that the empire possessed such a network of magnificent 
roads, and that even its most distant parts could be reached 
with ease and rapidity. 

Bibliography 

Beckers-Metcalfe, Gallus or Roman Scenes of the Time of Augustus, 

3d ed. (Appleton, New York, 1866.) 
Firth, J. B., Augustus Caesar and the Organization of the Empire of 

Rome. (Putnam, New York, 1903.) 
Friedlander-Magnus, Roman Life and Manners under the Early Empire. 

3 vols. (Routledge, New York, no date.) 
Inge, W. R., Society in Rome ufider the Caesars. (Scribner, New York, 

1888.) 
Johnston, H. W., The Private Life of the Romans. (Scott, Foresman, 

Chicago, 1905.) 
Thomas, E., Roman Life under the Caesars. (Putnam, New York, 

1899.) 

Historical Novels 

Ayscough, J., Faustula. (Benziger, New York, 1912.) 

Copus, J. E., Andros of Ephesus. (Wiltzius, New York, 1910.) 

Idem, The Son of Sir o. (Benziger, New York, 1909.) 

Croly, G., Tarry Thou Till I Come. (Funk and Wagnalls, New York, 

1901.) 
Keon, M. G., Dion and the Sibyls. (Benziger, New York, 1898.) 
Pater, W., Mariiis the Epicurean. (Macmillan, New York, 1901.) 



Second Period 
the middle ages (476-1517) 

INTRODUCTION 

THE CHIEF FACTORS IN MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION; PRIN- 
CIPAL THEATRE OF EVENTS 

78. The Chief Factors in Medieval Civilization. — The 

period of history extending from 476 to 1517 has rightly 
been called the Middle Ages, because it occupies a middle 
position and forms the transition period between Ancient 
and Modern times. Down to the time when the Western 
Empire fell to pieces under the ever repeated blows struck 
by the barbarians, Greco-Roman civilization predominated 
and strongly marked its impress on the history of the world. 
Its influence was not destroyed, but considerably reduced 
by the barbarian conquerors. We may distinguish four 
principal sources of medieval civilization, four elements 
which produced the culture of the Middle Ages; viz., (1) 
Greece; (2) Rome; (3) The Germans; (4) Christianity. 
As is obvious, the first three were national in character, the 
last religious. The influence of Greece during and after 
the flourishing period of her history was felt more especially 
in the speculative branches, in science, art, and philosophy. 
In these subjects Roman productions were only too fre- 
quently imitations, and at times slavish imitations, of 
Greek models. The Romans, however, were unexcelled 
as the lawmakers and the rulers of the universe. So perfect 
and well regulated was their government and administrative 
system that almost all modern states have boiTowed from 
them. Their admiration for the power of the state was so 
highly developed that, according to the old Roman idea, the 
state was supreme in all things, religion included. It was 
this notion of state supremacy which led in Christian times 

69 



70 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

to the many conflicts between state and church, between the 
civil power and rehgious authority. 

To these ancient national elements the invasions added a 
new race — the Germans. They contributed the very thing 
most needed at the time — new blood. Deep moral corruption 
had undermined the strength and largely caused the downfall 
of the Roman world. In it there now appeared a new and 
vigorous race, knowing nothing of ancient culture, but 
ignorant also of its vices. Besides this new vigor infused 
into a dying race, the Germans also brought with them a 
strong sense of individual independence. The idea of the 
all-powerful state thus received a counterpoise in the idea 
of individual rights. It is especially in English-speaking 
countries that this personal freedom cherished by the 
Germanic invaders was to be highly prized, jealously guarded, 
and fully developed. 

These three racial elements exercized their power and 
unfolded their activity under the inspiring and strengthening 
influence of a superhuman and divine force — Christianity. 
The Christian religion inculcated in these races the great 
principles of right thinking and right living. Civilized 
Romans, as well as uncultured barbarians, were taught the 
eternal truths to be believed by every follower of Christ 
and the sacred duties to be performed by every such believer. 
Of such a universal character and of such far-reaching 
consequence was the influence of Christianity, that the 
history of the Middle Ages cannot be understood without a 
consideration of the power of the Christian religion over the 
men of the time. The spirit of faith and the practise of 
self-renouncement differentiate the medieva! period es- 
sentially from ancient times. 

79. Principal Theatre of Events. — While the lands of the 
Mediterranean basin played a principal and almost exclusive 
part in the history of antiquity, the theatre of events ex- 
tended in the Middle Ages to all central Europe as far as 
the North and Baltic Seas. In the Mediterranean lands the 



FACTORS IN MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION 71 

commingling of the original Latin population with the new 
Germanic settlers produced the Latin or Romance nations. 
The languages — French, Italian, Spanish — peculiar to them 
were derived from the popular or rustic Latin and are known 
as Romance languages. In northwestern and central 
Europe independent German states were organized. In 
addition to these two important results of the migration of 
nations, another of its effects also should be noted, i. e., the 
westward movement of the Slavs. Closely following the 
advance of the Germans they proceeded as far west as the 
Elbe River. Their relations with their western neighbors 
form an important chapter in the history of the Middle 
Ages. 



FIRST EPOCH 

From the Fall of the Western Empire to its Restoration 
under Charlemagne (476-800). 

CHAPTER VI 
ITALY FROM 476 TO 800 

I. The Kingdom of Odoacer; the Ostrogoths 

80. The Kingdom of Odoacer (476-493).— After his 
capture of Rome, Odoacer allotted to his mercenaries one- 
third of the land in the conquered territory. His warriors 
were settled on estates all over Italy. For the rest, but 
little was changed in the existing institutions. The authority 
of the barbarian conqueror extended not only over Italy, 
but also over Dalmatia and parts of Raetia and Noricum. 
His rule was, however, not to be of long duration, for before 
the end of the fifth century another German tribe invaded 
Italy. These newcomers were the Ostrogoths. After the 
passage of the Huns, they had received permission from the 
Eastern emperor to settle in Pannonia. But unable to 
derive from this territory an easy sustenance, they moved 
further south and occupied Moesia. To induce them to 
abandon this province the Emperor Zeno suggested to 
Theodoric, their king, the conquest of Italy. The Os- 
trogothic ruler took the advice and proceeded westward 
with about 250,000 followers. He defeated Odoacer in 
three encounters and forced him to seek refuge in the strong- 
hold of Ravenna. It w^as' only after receiving a solemn 
pledge that his life would be spared that Odoacer surrendered 
this stronghold. Theodoric, however, far from keeping his 
promise, killed him with his own hand (493). 

81. Theodoric the Great (493-526); the Kingdom of the 
Ostrogoths in Italy (493-555).— Theodoric the Great (493- 
526), the most celebrated ruler of the Ostrogoths, had spent 
soiTie time at Constantinople before his accession to the 

72 



^ ITALY FROM 476-800 73 

throne. In the great capital he had become acquainted 
with the treasures of ancient civiHzation. This explains the 
protection which he extended to arts and letters. As 
regards administration and the distribution of land, he 
changed but little the existing conditions, except that his 
followers received the estates occupied by the supporters 
of Odoacer. His empire extended over Italy, including 
Istria and Dalmatia. He took up his residence at Ravenna, 
which he embellished by the erection of important monu- 
ments, some of which are still admired today. He en- 
couraged agriculture and enforced such a strict administra- 
tion of justice that in his day, according to legend, money 
left on the roads of Italy would remain there for years. 
In spite of this excellent rule, the empire of Theodoric lacked 
the elements of unity and population necessary to insure its 
permanency. The Goths were far inferior in number to the 
conquered Romans, were despised by these as barbarians, 
and hated as Germans and Arians. This antagonism led to 
secret agreements between prominent Romans and ^the 
Emperor Justinian, which Theodoric sought to suppress by 
indiscriminate infliction of capital punishment. The most 
illustrious victim of this severity was the philosopher Boethius, 
whose works were among the popular texts of the Middle 
Ages. 

Theodoric, to the end of his reign, successfully withstood 
all intrigues against his rule, but, after his death, the already 
precarious situation was further complicated by dissensions 
in the royal family. The Emperor Justinian, whose aim 
was to reunite the Eastern and Western Empires, made use 
of this discord to reconquer Italy, as he also reconquered 
North Africa from the Vandals. In its war against the 
Ostrogoths the Eastern Empire, ably served by two re- 
markable generals, Belisarius and A^arses, enjoyed the sym- 
pathy of the Italian population. The Goths performed 
prodigies of valor notably under their KingTotila; but the 
numerical sliperiority of their adversaries eventually tri- 



74 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

umphed over them, and in the year 555 their kingdom was 
merged into the Byzantine Empire. 

II. Byzantine Rule in Italy; the Lombards 

82. Justinian I the Great (527-565). — The reconquest of 
North Africa and Italy occurred under Justinian, one of the 
most important rulers of the Eastern Empire. He won 
fame in war, law and architecture. His successes in war were 
scored particularly in the West; in the East he not only 
made no conquests, but was forced to organize a strong 
defense against the Slavs and the Avars and even to pay 
tribute to the Persians. His name became famous in archi- 
tecture through the monumental public buildings which he 
erected, particularly the Church of St. Sophia at Constan- 
tinople, one of the world's greatest monuments. In law his 
name will always be associated with the Code which was 
published during his reign and still forms today the baeis 
for the study of Roman legal theories and practises. The 
successes of his reign were due to an efficient administration, 
a well-organized army and an ingenious system of diplomatic 
relations. But owing to the increase in the already heavy 
taxation, the emperor was not popular with his subjects. 
Nevertheless the empire, owing to its superior culture, 
maintained itself for centuries and rendered invaluable 
services to civilization by its resistance to the Arabs and the 
preservation of ancient literary and artistic treasures. 
Although Greek was adopted by the government about the 
year 600 as its official language, the inhabitants continued 
to call themselves Romans. 

83. Byzantine Rule in Italy. — In spite of their attachment 
to the Roman name, the Greeks did not choose Rome as the 
capital of the reconquered Italian territory. The governor 
or representative of the emperor was known as exarch and 
resided at Ravenna; the possessions under his authority 
were called the Exarchate. The comparatively considerable 



ITALY FROM 476-800 75 

territory which it comprised under Justinian did not all 
remain under Byzantine rule after his death. Some of it 
was again lost through the inability of the Eastern Emperors 
to defend it. Owing to the lack of financial resources, the 
number of mercenaries necessary to fight the wars of the 
empire could not be secured and maintained in the field. 
To this powerlessness of the government was added the 
treason of the Exarch Narses who, to avenge a personal 
insult, is said to have asked the Lombards to undertake the 
conquest of Italy. 

84. The Kingdom of the Longobards or Lombards (568- 
774). — The Longobards, so called according to legend from 
their long beards, according to authentic history from their 
long lances (hallebards) were granted land in Pannonia by 
Justinian. They left this province in 568 under their King 
Alboin, and invaded Italy. In a short time they con- 
quered all the northern part of the country (which from 
them was called Lomhardy) and also parts of Middle and 
Lower Italy. But as they possessed no navy, they were 
unable to drive the Greeks from the coast towns; Rome also 
withstood their repeated attacks. The exarchate of Ravenna 
continued to exist, though much reduced in size; in the north 
the Lombards, whose capital was Pavia, extended their 
dominions as far as Bavaria. Through their conquests 
and the maintenance of the Byzantine power in certain 
districts of Italy, the peninsula was cut up into different 
states and remained in this condition from 568 to 1870. 

An important change was introduced by the Lombards in 
the government of Italy. Up to their conquest, Roman 
officials were in charge of the administration of the country. 
They had maintained themselves even through the period 
of Gothic rule, but were now replaced by Lombards, and 
the country was divided into small principalities. As 
regards the royal succession, it was interrupted for about 
ten years by the double assassination of Alboin and of his 
son. After this period of disorder, the danger threatening 



76 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

from the Byzantine Empire in the east and from the Franks 
in the west forced the Lombards to forget their differences 
and unite. They chose for their king Autharis, Alboin's 
grandson. He married the CathoHc Bavarian princess 
Theodelinde, through whose influence the conversion of the 
Lombards to the Christian rehgion was begun. This rehgious 
change brought with it better relations between the Romans 
and the invaders and the consequent latinization of the 
latter. Their empire, nevertheless, did not enjoy long dura- 
tion ; for their ambitious desire to conquer Rome caused the 
destruction of their power in 774. 

Bibliography 

Bury, J. B., A History of the Later Roman Empire (395-800). 2 vols. 

(Macmillan, New York, 1889.) 
Emerton, E., Introduction to the Middle Ages. (Ginn, New York, 1888.) 
Oman, C, The Dark Ages (476-918). (Rivingtons, London, 1905.) 
Shahan, Bishop T. J., The Middle Ages. (Benziger, New York, 1904.) 
The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume One. (Macmillan, New 

York, 1911.) 



I 



CHAPTER VII 
THE BRITISH ISLES TO 800 

I. England 

85. The Invasions of the Angles and Saxons. — With the 
Roman conquest of Britain, prosperity and good order were 
introduced, in a very considerable degree, into that part of 
the island which came under Roman control. The occupa- 
tion bore, however, a superficial character; the Celtic tongue 
did not disappear and yield its place to Latin, and there 
was no close fusion between the two races. Even in point 
of administration, Britain's connection with Rome was a 
rather loose one; the government was in the hands of more 
or less independent military commanders, and as several 
of these led their troops to the continent in an attempt to 
conquer the imperial crown, the country was at times com- 
pletely left to itself. It was such an attempt to usurp the 
imperial power which resulted in 407 in the permanent with- 
drawal of the Roman legions. No army was sent back to 
the island, and in 410 the Emperor Honorius wrote from Italy 
urging the cities of Britain to provide for their own defense, 
as the imperial troops were needed elsewhere against the 
barbarians. The island thus ceased to be a Roman province 
(410). 

The country, abandoned to itself, relapsed into anarchy. 
It offered an easy prey to the ever-dangerous inroads of the 
Picts and Scots of the north. These tribes soon extended 
their raids as far south as the Thames. In this extremity a 
king of the Britons, Vortigern, turned for help to the Saxon 
pirates who were cruising in the Channel. These marauders, 
led by the two brothers Hengist and Horsa, agreed to provide 
the desired assistance and landed in the island of Thanet at 
the mouth of the Thames (449). For six years they faith- 
fully fought the battles of the Britons against the Picts. 

77 



78 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



1 



But, attracted no doubt by the riches of a fertile country 
they decided to stay and make a permanent settlement. 
The Britons cut off their supplies; the Saxons rebelled, and 
the fortune of war decided against the original inhabitants. 
The conflict between the Britons and the Germanic tribes 
lasted for about a century- and ended with the definitive 
establishment of the latter in the island. The conquerors 
belonged to three principal peoples: the Jutes, whose name 
still appears in Jutland, their original home; the Angles and 
the Saxons, whose names have since been used in different 
forms in English history. 

86. The Heptarchy or Seven Kingdoms. — The political 
condition of Britain was profoundly modified by the con- 
quest. Seven Germanic kingdoms were successively or- 
ganized in the course of the sixth century. They were the 
three kingdoms of the Angles: Northimibria, north of the 
Humber; East Anglia, between the estuary of the Wash 
and the Stour River; and Mercia, in the centre of the island. 
In the southeast comer the Jutes founded the kingdom of 
Kent. The Saxons, like the Angles, formed three kingdoms, 
that of Essex (East Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons), and 
Sussex (South Saxons). These seven kingdoms became 
known under the Greek name of Heptarchy, and the island 
received the name of Angleland, England, country of the 
Angles. 

The Britons, unable to offer effective resistance to the 
invaders, withdrew to the western part of the island, notably 
to the mountainous districts of Wales. Some of them left 
the country altogether and settled in Armorica, i. e., that 
northwestern part of France which from them received 
and still keeps the name of Brittany. 

87. The Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. — Xot only the 
difference of race but the difference in religion also separated 
the Anglo-Saxons from the Britons. The former were 
pagans; the latter Christians. The date at which the Gospel 
was first preached in the island is not definitely known ; but it 



THE BRITISH ISLES 79 

is certain that Christians in fairiy large numbers were to be 
found there at the end of the third century. It was not 
from their neighbors, however, that the Anglo-Saxons were 
to receive the glad tidings of the new religion. The first 
missionaries were to come direct!}^ from Rome, the centre 
of unity. 

Pope Gregory I, the Great, before his accession to the papal 
throne, desired to become personally the apostle of this 
nation, some members of which he had admired in the slave 
market at Rome and had lovingly called Angels instead of 
Angles. He even departed on the journey northward; but 
so great was his popularity among the Roman people that 
they compelled the reigning Pope to recall him. After his 
election to the papacy (590) Gregory sent the abbot Augustine 
and forty monks to England. These missionaries landed 
in 597 in the island of Thanet, the very place where the 
Saxons had first set foot on British soil. The island formed 
part of the kingdom of Kent, which was then ruled by King 
Ethelbert and Queen Bertha. It was perhaps through the 
influence of the queen, who was a Catholic, that the mis- 
sionaries were received courteously and permitted to preach. 
The austere life of the monks and the imposing chaiacter 
of the Christian worship made a vivid impression on the 
imagination of the barbarians and effected numerous con- 
versions. King Ethelbert himself adopted the new religion 
and was baptized on Pentecost Day, 597. On the following 
Christmas ten thousand of his subjects followed his example. 
Canterbur^^ the royal capital, became the centre of religious 
life in England, with St. Augustine as its first bishop. 

88. Ecclesiastical Affairs among the Britons. — O^ing to 
the large number of conversions new missionaries were 
needed, and these were sent by Pope Gregory from Rome. 
Augustine did not limit his activity to the needs of the Anglo- 
Saxons; he also made an attempt to restore the ancient dis- 
cipline among the Britons. He had a meeting with some 
British bishops in Worcestershire and discussed with them, 



80 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

especially, the celebration of Easter and the administration 
of baptism. The aim he had in view was their adoption of 
the Easter date and baptismal rite as they were observed in 
the Roman Church. His efiforts were not crowned with 
success; the Britons refused to listen to his expostulations 
and entreaties. The question was, however, merely one of 
discipline; in belief the two churches were in complete 
accord, and uniformity in the date of celebrating Easter and 
on other points of discipline was to be secured at the Synod 
of Whitby in 664. 

At this synod summoned by Oswy, King of Northumbria, 
representatives of the British and of the Anglo-Saxon 
churches discussed the religious dififerences separating the two 
nations. King Oswy suddenly cut short the debate by 
declaring his adhesion to the institutions and practises of 
St. Peter, i. e., of the Church of Rome. "Are you both 
agreed," he asked, "that the keys of heaven were given by the 
Lord to Peter?" Both sides answered "Yes." "Then I 
will not decide against the doorkeeper," Oswy declared, 
"lest when I come to the gates of heaven, he who holds the 
key should not open to me." Shortly after the synod, in 
669, the Greek monk Theodore was appointed Archbishop 
of Canterbury. He completed the organization of the Anglo- 
Saxon Church by the appointment of bishops in the various 
kingdoms of the Heptarchy. 

II. Ireland 

89. Ireland and Her Inhabitants. — Among the various 
European countries Ireland enjoys the distinction of having 
been conquered neither by the Romans nor by the Germanic 
barbarians. The opening of her history was marked by a 
great struggle of tribes which took place about the beginning 
of the Christian Era, and of which we have but scanty and 
misleading information. The victors in the struggle appear 
afterward as the Milesians, but are better known as Scots 



THE BRITISH ISLES 81 

and Gaels. All three names were derived from members of 
the families of chiefs. The name Scots explains the note- 
worthy fact that down to the eleventh and even the thirteenth 
century Ireland was frequently called Scotia (Scotland). 
The transfer of this name to the country to which it is 
applied today was due to the rise and progress of a Scottish 
tribe which migrated in the beginning of the sixth century 
from the north of Ireland (Antrim) to western Scotland 
(Argyle). 

The early inhabitants of Ireland were, before their con- 
version to Christianity, pagans, but not barbarians. They 
were ruled by five kings, one of whom was the ardri or high 
king and who resided at Tara in Meath. Under him four 
kings ruled the four provinces or states into which the island 
was divided. The power of the high king was, however, 
merely nominal at times. A strong central authority usually 
did not exist in the island. As a consequence the inhabitants 
enjoyed great freedom, but were also powerless against 
foreign attack. 

90. The Conversion of Ireland; St. Patrick (c. 372-493). 
— Christianity probably made its appearance at an early 
date in Ireland. While no names of missionaries can be 
mentioned before the fifth century, some of the inhabitants 
must have known and practised the religion of Christ before 
that date owing to their frequent commercial intercourse 
with Britain and the continent. In fact the words in which 
Pope Celestine in 431 sent Ireland her first missionary, 
Palladius, prove the presence of Christians there; since 
Palladius, a native of Britain, was sent "to the Scots believing 
in Christ." His stay was short and his work inconsiderable. 
In his place the same Celestine sent the man who was 
destined to be known in history as the great apostle of the 
Irish, St. Patrick. 

St. Patrick was born probably in 372 at Kilpatrick near 
Dumbarton in Scotland. He was about sixteen years old 
when he was captured by Irish marauders, carried off and 



82 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

sold into slavery. For about six years he tended his master's 
flocks, but then effected his escape and went back to his 
own people. On his return, he, an earnest Christian, de- 
cided to devote himself to the service of God in the sacred 
ministry and is said to have heard in visions the plaintive 
cry of the pagan Irish inviting him to come amongst them. 
This voice he considered the voice of God. He went to 
France, where he received his missionary training in some 
of the most celebrated monasteries of the country. He 
then proceeded to Rome, where he was consecrated bishop. 
Commissioned by Pope Celestine to preach the Gospel 
to the Irish, he arrived in the island in 432. He landed 
at Wicklow on the eastern coast, and in his missionary 
journeys, which carried him all over Ireland, usually preached 
to the important and influential men of the various localities 
and districts. At Easter of the year 433 a general assembly 
of the rulers, judges (Brehons) and priests (Druids) of the 
country was to be held at Tara under the presidency of the 
ardri or supreme monarch of Ireland. Patrick resolved to 
preach the Gospel before this august body, was successful 
in making numerous conversions and in obtaining permission 
to preach everywhere. It is on this solemn occasion that 
he is said to have plucked a shamrock from the sward and to 
have explained by its single stem and triple leaf the Unity 
of Nature and Trinity of Persons in God. The work thus 
auspiciously begun among the leaders of the nation, he 
continued successfully among the people. To assure per- 
manency to the work he consecrated bishops and established 
schools for the education of the clergy. When he died toward 
the end of the fifth century the whole nation was not yet 
Christian, but Christianity had supplanted pagar^ism and 
the Church was well organized. In the early Middle Ages 
Ireland was destined to become the island of saints and 
scholars. She owed this distinction no doubt in a large 
measure to the fervent prayers, ex tror dinar y mortification, 
invincible courage and boundless confidence in God which 



THE BRITISH ISLES 83 

distinguished St. Patrick, her great Apostle. In grateful 
recognition of his unparalleled services to their country the 
Irish have ever held his name in honor and have always linked 
with it the name of Brigid (died 525), his intimate friend and 
great coworker in the conversion of the country. 

Bibliography 

I. Birt, H. N., Lingard's History of England. (Bell, London, 1903.) 
Lingard, J., The Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church. (Fithian, 

Philadelphia, 1841.) 
Wyatt-Davies, E., A History of England. (Longmans, New York, 

1911.) 
II. Healy, Archbishop J., Ireland's Ancient Schools and Scholars, 6th 

ed. (Benziger, New York, 1912.) 
Idem, The Life and Writings of Saint Patrick. (Benziger, New York, 

1905.) 
Shahan, Bishop T, J., Saint Patrick in History. (Longmans, New 

York, 1905.) 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE FRANKS TO 800 

I. The Prankish Kingdom Under the Mero- 
vingians 

91. The Franks before Clovis. — The Prankish state be- 
came the most important of all the kingdoms which were 
established as a result of the migrations of the nations. It 
virtually included all the other Germanic peoples excepting 
the Anglo-Saxons and the Scandinavians, and its adminis- 
trative system was reproduced in the other medieval states. 

The Pranks originally did not form one nation, but were 
divided into two groups : the Saltan Franks and the Ripuarian 
Franks. The name of the former was probably derived from 
the River Sala, now the Yssel, one of the branches of the 
Lower Rhine. This group was established in the present 
country of Holland, but moved southward little by little 
until it reached the Somme, a river in northern France. 
The Ripuarian Pranks derived their name from the Latin 
Ripa (bank) , and had their home on both banks of the Rhine 
near the site of the present city of Cologne. Each of these 
two groups was subdivided into tribes, and each tribe had its 
leader. In 481 Clovis, who is recognized as the founder of 
Prankish power, was king of one of these tribal subdivisions 
of the Salian Franks. He gradually extended his sway over 
the other Prankish tribes and established the dynasty of 
the Merovingians, so called after his legendary ancestor, 
Meroveus. 

92. Clovis defeats Syagrius (486) and conquers the Ale- 
manni ; His Conversion (496) . — After the fall of the Western 
Empire, Syagrius, a Roman governor, had maintained him- 
self at the head of an independent state in the north of Gaul. 
By conquering this opponent the Pranks, under the leader- 
ship of Clovis, obliterated the last remnant of Roman 

84 



THE FRANKS 85 

domination and were enabled gradually to extend their 
empire as far south as the Loire (486) . 

Ten years after his successful encounter with the Romans, 
Clovis took the field against the Germanic tribe of the 
Alemanni. The cause of this conflict is not known with 
certainty, but must perhaps be sought in the attempt of 
both nations to advance into the same territory of Gaul. 
They met in battle at Tolbiac, a place of doubtful geographi- 
cal location, and, after a desperate struggle, the Alemanni 
suffered a crushing defeat. They lost all their possessions 
situated on the left bank of the Rhine, and even some of 
their territory on the right side of the river. The Franks 
became, by this new conquest, a most powerful nation; 
but more important in their history than the extension of 
territory was the famous conversion of their king, of which 
the war was the occasion. Clovis, hard pressed in the 
battle, appealed for help to the God of his Catholic wife 
Clotilde: "God of Clotilde," he prayed, "grant me this victory 
and I will believe in Thee and be baptized in Thy name." 

After the successful termination of the war, he faithfully 
kept the promise made on the field of battle. He received 
instructi9n in the truths of the Christian religion and was 
baptized on Christmas day, 496, with three thousand of 
his warriors. He was the first Germanic king to accept 
permanently the Catholic faith. Some barbarian rulers and 
nations had indeed been converted before him to Christianity, 
but they had adopted it in its heretical, Arian form. As 
the civilized Latin world was mainly Catholic, considerable 
religious antagonism, which reacted also on political and 
social life, developed between the two races. No such antag- 
onism existed between the Romans and the Franks, and 
the latter were more easily latinized in speech, customs 
and manners. 

93. Clovis' Victory over the Visigoths (507).— The advance 
of the Franks southward as far as the Loire brought them in 
contact with the Visigoths who had established themselves 



86 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

on the opposite bank of this river. As Clovis was determined 
to continue his conquests, war soon ensued between the two 
neighboring peoples. The Visigoths were defeated and 
lost almost all their territory in Gaul. They continued to 
maintain themselves in Spain, in spite of internal discord, 
until the Arabs, crossing over from Africa, attacked them 
and put an end to their kingdom (711). 

94. Clovis made a Roman Patrician; His Character. — 
Shortly after his victory over the Visigoths, Clovis was 
honored by the Eastern emperor with the titles of Patrician 
and Consul. He proudly donned the insignia of his new 
dignities and thus appeared before his people. Not only 
did these honors gratify his personal vanity, they were also 
instrumental in reconciling the Roman element with the 
new situation. Although Clovis was a barbarian, they now 
looked upon him as a true Roman official. 

Among his own Prankish people the king increased and 
consolidated his power by the destruction and assassination 
of his rivals. By this effective process of elimination he 
disposed of the rulers of various tribes and united them under 
his government. This unity was a rather loose and imperfect 
one, however, and although the king ruled with a strong hand, 
his power was not uniformly felt everywhere. As to the 
methods by which he achieved success and increased his 
dominions, they were evidently neither just nor Christian 
and deserve severe condemnation. In spite of his conversion 
to the Catholic faith, his morals remained, to a considerable 
extent, those of the heathen and barbarian. Egotism, ambi- 
tion, and treachery particularly marred his conduct; any 
means was just as long as it helped him to attain his end. 
He died in 511. 

95. The Prankish Empire under Clovis' Successors from 
511 to 638. — The descendants of Clovis reigned until the 
year 751. Their history may be divided into two periods. 
During the first period, which ended with the death of King 
Dagobert in 638, the Merovingian kings ruled in name and 



THE FRANKS 87 

in fact. From 638 to 751 they were kings in name only; the 
real power was exercized by the mayors of the palace. 
This second period is known as the time of the Do-Nothing 
Kings. 

Clovis was survived by four sons: Theoderic, Clodomir, 
Childebert and Clotaire. According to the Salian right of 
inheritance they divided the empire among themselves as 
though it were private property, while each retained for 
himself whatever he could acquire by new conquests. 

The eldest son Theoderic undertook a war against the 
Thuringians and occupied a considerable part of their terri- 
tory in 531. The following year the two younger brothers 
destroyed the power of the Burgundians and brought them 
under Prankish rule. About the same time the rest of the 
country of the Alemanni was conquered, and in 540 even 
the Bavarians were reduced to subjection. 

The Prankish empire had thus attained to enormous 
proportions. Its principal parts were Austrasia, Neustria, 
and 'Burgundy. Austrasia or the eastern country comprised 
the northeastern territory, including present Belgium, parts 
of Germany, of Holland and of Prance; Neustria or the 
western country was situated to the west of Austrasia. 
Burgundy was formed by the territories of both banks of 
the Rhone. In point of race, considerable difference existed 
between Austrasia and Neustria. The former was at the 
time frequently called Germanic Francia, the latter Roman 
Francia. 

96. The Prankish Empire under the Do-Nothing Kings 
(638-751). — During this period the kings only nominally 
ruled the Prankish state. The real power was exercized 
by the mayors of the palace, i. e., the highest officials at 
court and in the kingdom. The mayors of the palace were 
destined to take the place of the kings on the throne at the 
end of the period. In Austrasia the office became hereditary ; 
and beside the royal dynasty of the Merovingians existed the 
dynasty of the Heristals who were mayors of the palace. 



88 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

The dominions of the Heristals were situated in Belgium. 
The first personage of the hne whose name history records 
is Pippin of Landen, who ruled Austrasia in the first half of 
the seventh century. His grandson Pippin of Heristal 
(687-714), after a brilliant victory over the nobility of 
Neustria at Tertry (687), was mayor of the palace of the 
whole empire. Charles Martel (714-741), who succeeded 
him, had to ward off the attacks of the Frisians and to foil 
the intrigues of the Alemanni and Bavarians. But his 
greatest title to fame is his decisive victory over the Arabs 
at Tours in 732. On that memorable day he saved Christian 
civilization by pushing back the Mohammedan hordes. 

97. Pippin the Short assumes the Royal Title and puts an 
End to the Merovingian Dynasty (751). — The son and 
successor of Charles Martel, Pippin the Short, so called 
because of his small stature, put an end to the nominal 
kingship of the Merovingians and deprived them of the 
royal title. He dispatched two messengers to Pope St. 
Zacharias to inquire whether the system of double rulers 
should be continued among the Franks. The Pope made 
answer: "It seemed to him better and more advantageous 
that he should be king and be called king who had the power 
rather than he who was falsely called king." On the receipt 
of this favorable message, Pippin summoned a general 
meeting of the Prankish nobility and people at Soissons. 
Here the powerless Childeric HI was deposed, shorn of his 
regal locks, and sent into a monastery. Pippin was lifted 
on the shield, unanimously recognized as King of the Franks, 
and began a new (the Carolingian) dynasty (751). He had, 
as is apparent, for his assumption of power, the sanction of 
the Holy See and the choice of the nation. A special 
ceremony was to strengthen still further his power: St. 
Boniface, the apostle of the Germans and reformer of the 
Prankish Church, anointed the new monarch. The rite 
recalled the anointing of King Saul by the prophet Samuel 
and gave, as it were, a sacred character to the kingship. 



THE FRANKS 80 

II. The Prankish Empire under the Early 
Carolingians (75 1-800) . 

98. The Reign of Pippin the Short (751-768).— Pippin's 
relations with the Popes and the Lombards form the most 
important feature of the history of his reign and led to his 
two great expeditions to Italy. The Popes, abandoned by 
the Eastern emperors, had been forced to treat independently 
with the Lombard kings, who sought to conquer Rome. 
When in the year 752 no exarch or viceroy was appointed 
for Italy, they considered themselves as the successors of 
these officials. They organized and directed the defense 
against the Lombards when no protection was furnished 
by the emperors. When, after his conquest of the exarchate, 
King Atstulf advanced on Rome, Pope Stephen II, reckoned 
by some historians as Stephen III, fled to the Prankish 
court in search of help. He conferred on Pippin the title of 
Patrician, ^. ^., protector of the city and territory of Rome, 
again anointed him king, and received from him definite 
and solemn assurances of assistance against the Lombards 
(754). 

Before opening hostilities the King of the Franks addressed 
a summons to Aistulf demanding that he respect the rights 
of the Holy See. On Aistulf's refusal the Prankish army 
crossed the Alps and defeated the Lombards. Surrounded 
in Pavia the capital, their king was forced to sue for peace. 
It was concluded on Aistulf's promise that he would cede to 
Pippin Ravenna and twenty-one other towns with the 
territories belonging thereto. The Prankish king made 
donation of the conquest to the Pope. This was the nucleus 
of the states which became known later on as the States of 
the Church and which were suppressed permanently only 
in 1870. The Pope, who up to this time had exercized juris- 
diction only over souls, now became also a temporal though 
not yet completely independent sovereign, having his 
possessions and subjects like other kings (754). 



90 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Aistulf did not keep the promises made in time of distress. 
On the contrary, considering himself out of danger after the 
withdrawal of the Prankish troops, he descended the valley 
of the Tiber and laid siege to Rome. Pippin again crossed 
the Alps, forced him to raise the siege and to hurry north- 
ward to defend his invaded dominions. The second cam- 
paign, like the first, was brief and successful for Pippin. 
He defeated Aistulf in northern Italy, surrounded him in 
Pa via, and imposed his own peace terms. These included 
the instant surrender of Ravenna and the above-mentioned 
towns and territories which were again turned over to the 
Pope (756). 

These harmonious relations between the papacy and the 
talented, energetic and benevolent Pippin prepared the 
reign and work of Charlemagne and the friendly cooperation 
between the Holy See and the Carolingians. 

99. The Accession of Charlemagne; His Dominions. — 
When Pippin died in 768 his dominions were divided between 
his two sons: Carloman and Charles. The former died 
three years later (771) and, although he had left sons to 
succeed him, Charles was acknowledged by the Franks as 
the sole ruler of the kingdom. He was the greatest king of 
the Middle Ages and ruled from 768 to 814. He continued in 
all directions the conquests of his predecessors. During 
the forty-six years of his reign some sixty military expeditions 
took place, half of which he commanded in person. He 
united under his prudent and efficient rule, wholly or in part, 
the countries now known as Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, 
Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Italy. His 
wars were waged in Italy, Spain, Germany and the territories 
occupied by the Slavs and Avars. 

100. War in Italy (773-774).— The difficulties between the 
papacy and the Lombards did not come to an end with the 
reign of Pippin. Under Charlemagne, Desiderius, the new 
King of the Lombards {1S1-11^), again threatened the pos- 
sessions of the Holy See. Pope Adrian I (772-795) appealed 



THE FRANKS 91 

to the Franks for help. Charlemagne, imitating his father's 
example, crossed the Alps and promptly put an end to the 
kingdom of the Lombards by the conquest of their capital 
Pa via and the capture of their King Desiderius. The latter 
was shorn of his locks, sent into a monastery, and thus dis- 
appears from history. Charlemagne assumed the Iron 
Crown of Lombardy and the title of King of the Lombards 
(774). He subsequently made the conquest of the peninsula 
as far south as the Garigliano River and created the kingdom 
of Italy, over which he appointed one of his sons. He 
confirmed and increased the donation of territories which 
Pippin had made to the Holy See. But these Papal States, 
or Patrimony of St. Peter, as they were frequently called, 
were included in the kingdom of Italy and subject to its 
ruler. The Pope was not completely independent in govern- 
ing them, but enjoyed in several respects the rights of tem- 
poral ruler of these territories. 

101. War in Spain. — Charlemagne prosecuted against the 
Saracens in Spain the war which Pippin had begun against 
them in southern France. It lasted for some twenty years 
and ended with the conquest of a part of northern Spain. 
The conquered territory was organized as a frontier province 
under the name of Spanish March. The name March was 
to become usual for frontier districts especially created for 
the defense of the empire against foreign invaders. This 
province wrested from the Saracens was the nucleus of the 
future Christian kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon, and 
Charlemagne may rightly be considered as one of the founders 
of the Spanish monarchy. 

On the return from his first expedition, Charlemagne's 
rearguard, commanded by Roland, Count of Brittany, was 
attacked and wiped out by the Basques in the famous defile 
of Roncesvalles. This unimportant incident formed later 
the subject of the famous Song of Roland, the great national 
epic of the Franks. 

102. Wars against the Saxons (772-804).— The Saxons 



92 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

who played such an important part in the history of Charle- 
magne inhabited that part of present Germany and the 
Netherlands which extends approximately from the Lower 
Rhine to the Elbe. They were the only German tribe which 
still worshipped pagan gods and offered human sacrifices. 
They fought with the greatest courage for their independence 
and their false religion, but the lack of strong political organi- 
zation among them and their division into several groups 
weakened their power of resistance. Charlemagne waged 
war against them to put an end to their inroads into Prankish 
territory and to effect their conversion to the Christian 
religion. More than thirty years (772-804) were necessary 
to subdue permanently this stubborn enemy, who was 
favored by the lay of the land, the difficulty of communica- 
tion, and the fact that repeatedly the Prankish king was 
simultaneously engaged in other wars. The hero of Saxon 
independence, and for a considerable time the soul of the 
resistance to the Pranks, was Widukind, who, forced re- 
peatedly to submission, ever again took up arms against 
the invader. 

The war bore a character of unusual fierceness on both 
sides. The Saxons massacred the Prankish troops in isolated 
stations, also the missionaries and merchants who ventured 
into their territory. Charlemagne, in the hope that the 
severest punitive measures would reduce them and effect 
their submission, ordered in 782 the massacre of 4,500 
defenseless Saxon prisoners. This action, far from realizing 
his expectations, caused a general uprising of the Saxon 
nation. But, in spite of setbacks such as this, the tenacity of 
the powerful Prankish king was to triumph eventually. 
Widukind made his final submission and accepted baptism 
in 785. After that date, war operations on a large scale 
ceased, although the country was not yet permanently 
conquered. A new outbreak occurred in 793, but it only 
extended over the northern districts. Charlemagne now 
had recourse to the system of plantations ; numerous Saxons 



THE FRANKS 93 

were deported into other parts of his dominions and Franks 
settled on their confiscated land. No less than ten thousand 
families were forcibly removed from northern Saxony and 
part of their land <^dven to a Slavic tribe friendly to the 
Franks. 

With the submission of the Saxons to the Franks went 
hand in hand their acceptance of the Christian religion. 
The loss of their independence meant also the destruction of 
heathenism among them. Saxony became at the same time 
Frankish and Christian. Towns, so far non-existent, now 
sprang up in the country and increased its material pros- 
perity, while newly erected dioceses promoted its spiritual 
welfare. 

103. Wars against the Avars and the Slavs ; the Beginnings 
of Austria. — On the eastern frontier of Germany, Charle- 
magne came into contact with new barbarians against whom 
he had to defend his dominions. These peoples were the 
Avars and the Slavs. The Slavs had settled in the territory 
east of the Elbe. Charlemagne waged war against them and 
forced them to pay tribute. The Avars, who as regards 
origin and manner of life were related to the Huns, occupied at 
the time the plain of Hungary. The King of the Franks, in 
order to put an end to repeated incursions into his dominions, 
attacked and defeated them. For greater security from 
unexpected attack he organized several marches on the 
eastern frontier. Among these the most famous was the 
March of the East, which grew gradually into the independent 
state of Austria^ 

104. The Restoration of the Empire in the West; Charle- 
magne is crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III (800). — In 
795 Po]3e Adrian I died and was succeeded by Pope Leo III 
(795-816). However, some of Adrian's relatives and former 
supporters refused to acknowledge Leo and took him prisoner. 
In order to obtain his deposition they dispatched messengers 
to Charlemagne and accused the Pope of various crimes. 
Leo succeeded in making his escape and proceeded to the 



94 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

court of the Prankish king (799). Charles, engaged in war 
with the Saxons, could not then undertake a journey to 
Rome, but he visited the city of the Popes in the following 
year to restore peace between Leo and his enemies. An 
assembly of ecclesiastical and civil dignitaries, held in St. 
Peter's Church, entertained too great a respect for the 
Apostolic See to sit in judgment over its occupant. As a 
consequence Pope Leo proved by a solemn and public oath 
his innocence of the utterly false accusations placed against 
him. A few days later there was celebrated the famous 
Christmas Day of the year 800, which was destined to become 
so momentous in the annals of the Christian Church and 
the restored Empire. During the Mass which Charlemagne 
attended on that day in St. Peter's Church, Pope Leo III 
placed a precious crown on his head and proclaimed him 
Emperor of the West. While this was being enacted the 
Roman populace cried aloud: "Long life and victory to the 
mighty Charles, the great and pacific emperor of the Romans, 
crowned of God." 

105. Meaning of this Coronation; Papacy and Empire. — 
The old Roman empire was thus restored in the west; the 
coronation was not considered as an innovation, but as a 
renewal and continuation of the old Roman imperial dignity. 
The bestowal of this new title on Charlemagne did not 
bring with it any increase in territory, it conferred no material 
advantages, but added enormously to the moral authority 
and prestige of the King of the Franks. It expressed the 
division of the supreme authority among Christians between 
two powers: the spiritual power exercized by the Pope and 
governing the Church, and the civil power exercized by the 
emperor and governing the state. The two authorities, the 
civil and the spiritual, were to be intimately united and to 
work harmoniously together. The secular power received, 
through the coronation, a higher moral recognition and a 
sacred character; the spiritual, effective help and strong 
protection in the fulfillment of its mission. The sacred 



THE FRANKS 95 

character of the imperial dignity was expressed in the very 
title, Holy Roman Empire. The bearer of this title as- 
sumed the performance of very important duties and en- 
joyed very considerable rights. He was bound to protect 
the whole Christian Church, particularly the Pope and the 
See of Rome, and to promote the spread of Christianity 
among the barbarian nations. On the other hand, he 
enjoyed extensive privileges and supreme civil authority 
over all western princes. It must be added, however, that, 
in practise, this universal civil authority could not be exer- 
cized and that Charlemagne's successors were, generally 
speaking, rulers of Germany, overlords of Italy, and em- 
perors only in theory. 

Bibliography 

Bryce, J., The Holy Roman Empire. (Caldwell, New York, no date.) 
Davis, H. W. C, Charlemagne. (Putnam, New York, 1899.) 
Mombert, J. I., A History of Charles the Great. (K. Paul, London, 

1888.) 
Sergeant, L., The Franks. (Putnam, New York, 1898.) 
The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume Two. (Macmillan, New York, 

1913.) 



CHAPTER IX 

ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE PRANKISH 

STATE 

I. Organization of the Government 

106. Character of the Kingship. — The royal authority 
among the Franks was ahsohite and hereditary. It was 
absolute in the first place, for the royal power was limited 
neither by the vote of a popular assembly nor by the in- 
fluence wielded by a more or less independent nobility. 
The ancient popular assemblies, in which the Franks met 
and framed laws or decided for war, had degenerated into 
mere reviews of arms and warriors. An aristocracy com- 
posed of great landed proprietors was in existence, but it 
enjoyed no political privileges and was, like the people, 
completely subject to the royal authority. 

The kingship was also hereditary. Such was not the case 
originally among the Germans, nor even among the Franks. 
Before the latter settled in Gaul their kings had to submit 
to election. But from the time of Clovis the royal dignity 
did not pass from the family of the Merovingians until 
they were supplanted by the Carolingians, who continued 
to hand it down from father to son. Two ceremonies re- 
called the former electoral system : the lifting of the new king 
on the shield and the oath of fidelity sworn by noblemen, 
warriors, and people. 

107. Royal Power and Residence. — The duty imposed on 
the king was twofold: defense of the state against foreign 
aggression and maintenance of law and order. For the 
performance of the first-mentioned duty he enjoyed the 
right to decide for peace or war and was in supreme com- 
mand of the army. For the fulfilment of the latter his 
authority was not only of a legislative nature, but included 
also the judicial and coercive power, i. e., the right to judge, 
and punish the guilty. In the exercize of his authority as 

96 



THE PRANKISH STATE 97 

lawgiver, Charlemagne frequently consulted the diet, an 
assembly of bishops and noblemen which represented the 
interests of both state and Church. The enactments of the 
diet were, owing to their division into chapters (in Latin 
"capita"), designated as capitularies. 

The kings had no fixed capital. To the Roman palaces 
which were at their disposal in certain cities, they preferred 
extensive \'illas, which, usually situated near forests, offered 
excellent opportunities for the chase. They proceeded suc- 
cessively from one royal domain to another, consuming the 
produce of the property on which they happened to be 
located. The income and maintenance of the court was 
derived, not from the state as in our modern system, but 
mainly from the very extensive estates owned by the Crown. 

108. Administrative Divisions. — In the administration of 
the Prankish kingdom we may distinguish: (1) The Central 
Government, and {Z) the Provincial Divisions. 

The central government or palace was nothing else but the 
royal court. All matters of state were attended to at 
the palace: appointment and supervision of governors or 
counts, framing and enactment of laws, organization of the 
army, imposition of taxes. Although primarily appointed 
for service at the court, the officials surrounding the king 
exercized, owing to the personal character of the govern- 
ment, a very considerable influence on state affairs. At their 
head was the mayor of the palace, who eventually became a 
sort of prime minister more powerful than the king himself. 
Pippin the Short suppressed the office after his accession to 
the throne. 
(The kingdom was divided in some sections into duchies 
or provinces, and throughout, into counties, which consti- 
tuted the real administrative units of the country. At the 
head of the county was an official appointed by the king 
who, deriving his title from the name of the district, was 
known as count. On him devolved not only the task of 
ruling the county, but also the administratiorfc:of justice, 



98 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the levying of taxes and the command of troops. It is 
clear from these attributions of the count that the adminis- 
tration of justice and the exercize of the executive power were 
in the same hands. Such was the organization in all medieval 
states; the separation of the two powers as it is in force 
everywhere today was unknown at that time. Owing to 
the whims of the rulers and unmanageable temper of the 
people, constant changes took place in the personnel of the 
royal officials governing the country. If, in spite of this 
uncertainty of tenure, a certain unity prevailed in the 
administration, it was due to the fact that the sons of the 
nobility were sent at an early date to the royal court, where 
they received a uniform training fitting them for adminis- 
trative affairs. 

To the above territorial divisions Charlemagne added the 
Marches. They were formed of conquered territory situated 
beyond the original boundary of the kingdom. The people 
settled in the Marches were to be prepared at all times to 
repel a hostile attack. Charles also instituted a new set of 
officials known as royal envoys or inspectors, "Missidominici." 
These, one of whom was usually a bishop, the other a noble- 
man, were appointed annually by the king, and were charged 
with the visitation of various districts and the supervision 
of the government of the counts. They reported their ob- 
servations to the king and contributed, in a large measure, 
to the better administration of the state. The institution 
disappeared, at least for a time, shortly after Charlemagne's 
death. 

109. Revenues of the Royal Treasury. — Owing to the de- 
pendence of man on natural products, payment in kind 
usually precedes the system in which the divers exchanges 
are based on the monetary system. Where payment is made 
in kind, the needs of a farm or other establishment are met 
by the products raised on it. As for the state, it demands of 
its subjects especially personal service and farm products, 
and rewards its officials for their services by grants of land 



THE PRANKISH STATE 99 

and estates. This primitive condition of things was still 
prevalent among the Franks during the period under con- 
sideration. The principal revenues of the royal treasury 
were derived from: (1) Customs duties; (2) The land tax; 
(3) Fines; (4) The Crown domains. 

The Prankish kings continued to levy the taxes which had 
been introduced and collected by the Roman government. 
Among these was the customs duty, which had to be paid 
not only on goods at their entrance into the kingdom, but 
also on merchandise shipped from one inland point to 
another. The revenues derived from the customs, while 
not very high, were nevertheless appreciable, as considerable 
merchandise was carried on the rivers and over the still 
serviceable Roman roads. 

Another tax levied at least at the beginning of the Merovin- 
gian period was the land tax. It was not only imposed on 
all estates of the former Roman inhabitants, but had to be 
paid also by the Prankish landowners. The estates of the 
Church, however, were exempt ; many Pranks soon secured the 
same privilege, which was eventually extended also to some 
Romans. Owing to abuses and mismanagement this impost 
was allowed to lapse by the later Merovingian kings. In 
connection with the land tax ought to be mentioned the 
right enjoyed by king and royal officials to demand hospi- 
tality of the people whose territory they traversed. This 
right soon led to numerous abuses. Generous hospitality 
offered the king by count or monastery was soon followed by 
an increasing number of visits. As the kings were usually 
accompanied by numerous retainers, the expenses incurred 
by the host were very considerable, and the right to hospi- 
tality enjoyed by royalty and its representatives was soon 
felt as another heavy burden imposed on the people. 

The fines imposed in the administration of justice were 
likewise an important source of revenue. In the very prev- 
alent settlement known as composition, in which the culprit 
agreed to pay a compensation for the injury he had inflicted 



100 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

or the damage he had done; one-third of the indemnity 
{wergeld) was due to the king who, however, shared it with 
the local count. 

The most abundant source of income for the kingship was 
its own domains. The Merovingian kings inherited all the 
Roman imperial estates, and although they granted parts of 
these to their soldiers or to the Church, the royal domains 
were nevertheless extensive and numerous. The provisions 
derived from them were alone sufficient for the maintenance 
of the royal family and court. Apart from this maintenance, 
the expenses of the state were insignificant and were usually 
occasioned chiefly by the customary distribution of presents. 

110. The Army. — The Franks extended to the Rom.ans the 
liability to military service and thus made it universal for 
all freemen. It was part of the task of the royal envoys 
{Mis si dominici) to report the number of men subject to 
military service. The citizens were called to arms, however, 
only in time of war, and the king alone could issue the sum- 
mons. A prompt response to the call was exacted: the 
soldier was required to leave on the evening of the same 
day if the order was issued in the morning ; he was obliged to 
report the following morning if the call was delivered in the 
evening. Whosoever did not respond to the summons was 
sentenced to pay a heavy fine. The soldier was neither 
equipped nor amied by the state, but had to bear his own 
war expenses, and every freeman owning twelve farms served 
as a cavalryman. The soldier was even constrained to 
provide his own food, and hence lived usually on the country 
in which he waged war. This condition brought in its train 
incalculable disorder. The arniies pillaged impartially 
friend and foe. They ravaged, burned, and massacred often 
less through military necessity than through sheer force of 
habit. Such warfare might indeed turn out very profitably 
for the combatants, but it was ruinous for the districts 
where the fighting occurred. 

111. The Administration of Justice. — Justice was adminis- 



THE PRANKISH STATE 101 

tered either by the king, the count, or the lord. The king 
had jurisdiction over the whole kingdom and sat in judgment 
in his palace and not in any public building. He was usually 
assisted, at the trial, by some ecclesiastics or noblemen of 
the court. The count was the chief justice of his district. 
Contrary to the royal practise he did not hold court in his 
residence, but at the Mall, i. e., a place open to the public. 
He was generally attended by some notables of the locality 
in which the trial was held. Beside the king and count, who 
exercized judicial authority in the name of the state, the 
lord enjoyed the privilege of administering justice on his 
own domain. 

The sentences were based on written proofs and on the 
depositions of witnesses. Frequently, however, recourse 
was had to the judgment of God as expressed in the ordeals. 
In these practises the accused submitted to various tests 
such as touching with the bare hand, or walking barefoot on, 
a red hot iron, plunging his hands into boiling water, sub- 
mitting to single combat, or swearing an oath on the Cross 
or the Blessed Eucharist. If he escaped such an ordeal 
unscathed, God was supposed to have pronounced judgment 
in his favor and he was declared innocent. These usages 
were based on former pagan superstitions, but they were 
tolerated by the Church. Recourse to them was encouraged 
implicitly and by example since the priests blessed the objects 
used on such occasions and at times had recourse themselves 
to the judgment of God. The ordeals fell into disuse only 
after Innocent III (1198-1216) condemned them and 
denounced them as a rash tempting of God. 

112. Penalties; Laws in Use. — Severe penalties were 
usually imposed on delinquents. Capital punishment was 
inflicted not on,ly for homicide, treason and desertion, but 
also for theft committed in a church or repeated three 
times. Nevertheless, the old Germanic usage of composition 
or wergeld modified the severity of the law by permitting 
frequently the payment of an indemnity. In spite of this 



102 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

mitigation the death penalty was inflicted very frequently, 
for it is mentioned among the especially meritorious works of 
St. Eligius that, with the king's permission, he sent his 
servants through towns and villages to take down the bodies 
of malefactors from the gibbets and give them decent burial. 
Originally the various Geiinanic tribes had each its own 
laws and customs, and these remained in vigor after the 
barbarians settled in the Roman empire. A Frank continued 
to be judged according to Prankish law, a Burgundian ac- 
cording to Burgundian law. Wherever he went a German 
took his law with him, i. e., an Alem annus or Visigoth so- 
journing in Frankland was, in case of trial, still subject to 
his own national, and not to Prankish, law. A Roman, 
on the other hand, was bound by the Roman code. In 
other words, the law was tribal or personal and not territorial. 
This system was still in vigor under Charlemagne who, after 
his coronation, collected and reduced to writing the unwritten 
customs and laws of the peoples subject to him. 

II. Distribution of Land; Classes of Persons; 
Culture and Education 

113. Distribution of Land.— Under the Merovingian and 
Carolingian dynasties, the country was divided into large 
landed estates. Extensive domains were situated all over 
the kingdom and were owned by the Crown, the Church, 
and the nobility. Most of the land was thus owned, although 
small, independent properties also existed here and there. 
Owing to the extent of his estates, the large landowner could 
not possibly till them himself and depended on the labor of 
others, which he secured by the following arrangement. 
He divided his domain into two parts. One of these he 
reserved for himself and called it the part of the lord or, in 
Latin, "dominicum." It included the principal mansion 
surrounded by gardens, parks, meadows, fields, vineyards 
and forests. The remainder of the estate he divided up into 



THE FRANKISH STATE 103 

ots which he rented out to tenants. A small cottage built 
on every such lot served as dwelling to the tenant who, by 
working the fields, vineyards, and meadows rented to him, 
provided for his own and his family's needs. The tenure 
was permanent in the sense that the same serf or "colonus" 
cultivated the same property all his life. Frequently the 
tenure was even hereditary, so that the same family held the 
same lot for generations. 

Certain obligations were of course imposed on the tenant. 
They may be summed up in the two following points: (1) 
The payment of specified dues ; (2) the rendering of personal 
services. The dues were paid in kind, the lord being en- 
titled to a part of the tenant's crops. The personal services 
consisted in a few days' work per week on that part of the 
estate which the lord had reserved to himself and which he 
was thus enabled to cultivate. 

114. Classes of Persons. — The conditions under which the 
land was held help to give an understanding of the existing 
social distinctions. Three classes of persons must be dis- 
tinguished: (1) The great landowners who formed a landed 
aristocracy. Most of them lived at the royal court, bound 
themselves by a special oath of fidelity to the king, and re- 
ceived in return high dignities such as the appointment to 
a county or a bishopric. (2) The peasants. They were free- 
men owning a small property which they had either inherited 
or acquired in some other way. (3) The men living on the 
lord's estate, who were either colons, serfs or slaves. Slavery 
undoubtedly continued in existence during the period, but 
the number of slaves constantly decreased, most of them 
rising to the higher condition of the serf. The serf, far from 
being completely at the mercy of a heartless master, had a 
small plot of ground which he tilled for himself, and a little 
dwelling in which he lived surrounded by his family. He 
paid indeed certain dues, and had to work a certain number 
of days for his master ; but this will be found natural enough 
if it be remembered that the latter had granted him his 



104 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

land. Even the fact that he was attached to the soil had its 
good side, for while he could not leave, neither could he be 
dismissed by the lord. The difference between "colonus" 
and serf was more one of origin than of actual condition. 
The colonus was a freeman who had fallen almost completely 
from his primitive condition of liberty, whereas the serf 
had risen from the abject position of the slave. During the 
Middle Ages both eventually formed the class of serfs 
attached to the soil. 

115. Culture under the Merovingians. — The Merovingian 
period was for Gaul and all the lands occupied by the Franks 
a time of the densest ignorance. Such a state of things was 
the natural result of historical conditions, since the Roman 
culture had been destroyed and the barbarian conquerors 
had none of their own to put in its place. As churchmen 
were the principal, if not the only, representatives of learning 
at the time, Latin, the language of the Church, was also the 
means of learned intercourse. The best known writer of 
the Merovingian period was Gregory, Bishop of Tours 
(538-593), whose History of the Franks forms the chief 
source of information for the history of the sixth century. 

116. Education and Art under Charlemagne. — Most im- 
portant in the history of the civilization of the period was 
the reign of Charlemagne. The great emperor desired that 
a school be attached to each monastery and cathedral. 
While such schools were in existence before his time, they 
now increased in number and were more fully organized. 
Charles thus laid the foundation of the whole medieval 
school system. Instruction was imparted in Latin in these 
institutions and included the seven liberal arts, an inherit- 
ance of ancient times. The studies were divided into the 
Trivium, which had a linguistic basis and comprised gram- 
mar, dialectics and rhetoric, and the Quadrwium, which had 
a mathematical foundation and comprised arithmetic, 
geometry, astronomy and music. The final purpose of all 
instruction was the interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures. 



THE PRANKISH STATE 105 

The model school was that of Tours, which was under the 
direction of the great Alcuin. Alcuin, an Englishman, was, 
like several other learned men, invited by Charlemagne 
to his court. He became the king's chief adviser in his 
educational reforms and was, so to speak, his minister of 
public instiTiction. With him were to be met at the royal 
court, the Lombard, Paul the Deacon, who has left a history 
of his own nation, and the Frank, Eginhard or Einhard, who 
wrote a valuable life of Charlemagne. 

The revival of studies was accompanied by a revival of art. 
Churches and palaces were built on the models of monu- 
ments at Ravenna and Rome. Columns were even brought 
from Italy for their ornamentation. The most famous 
church of Charlemagne's time, still in existence today, is 
that of St. Mary's at Aix-la-Chapelle. This city was his 
favorite residence and contained also one of his most beautiful 
palaces. 

Bibliography 
Guizot-Knight, Civilization in Europe. (D. Appleton, New York, 1907.) 
Ogg., F. A. A., Source Book of Mediaeval History (American Book 

Co., New York, 1907.) 
Seignobos-Dow, The Feudal Regime (Holt, New York, 1902.) 
Wergeland, Miss A, M., Slavery in Germanic Society during the Middle 

Ages. (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1916.) 
West, A. F., Alcuin. (Scribner, New York, 1916.) 



CHAPTER X 
MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM 

I. Mohammed and His Religion 

117. The Arabs at the Coming of Mohammed. — At the 

beginning of the seventh century, Asia, that continent which 
may be styled the mother of rehgions, since it has given birth 
to all the great religious systems, witnessed the rise and 
progress of a new cult, Islam. The name Islam means 
submission, obedience, which is one of the characteristic 
practises of this new religion. From its founder, Mohammed, 
was derived the designation Mohammedanism which is 
also applied to it. 

This new religious system profoundly modified the history 
of the world and of civilization. It spread notably in Asia, 
Africa, and Europe, and still boasts numerous adherents on 
these three continents. It was the primary cause of the 
greatest and longest wars of the Middle Ages, the Crusades. 
It still .continues to gain adherents in Africa and Asia, and 
numbers today no less than 200 million members. 

Islam was first preached among the Arabs who, like the 
Hebrews, belong to the Semitic branch of the white race. 
They are descended, according to their own claim, from 
Ismael, son of Abraham and Agar. Prior to the appearance 
of Mohammed among them, they did not form one united 
people, but were divided into numerous independent tribes, 
some of which had settled permanently in different localities, 
while others were still nomads. They were pagans or 
worshipped idols. Their common shrine, the Kaaha at 
Mecca, in which a sacred stone, probably a meteor, was held 
in high honor, was the object of an annual pilgrimage on the 
part of all "faithful" Arabs. In this sacred edifice the idols 
peculiar to each tribe, to the number of three hundred and 
sixty, were also the subject of special veneration. 
106 



MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM 107 

Paganism was, however, not the only reHgion of Arabia. 
Judaism also had its followers and Christianity was likewise 
represented. The presence of these believers in one God 
and the acquaintance with their doctrine prepared the way 
for the destruction of idols, which Mohammed successfully 
accomplished. 

118. Life of Mohammed (ab. 570-632); The Hegira 
(622). — Mohammed was born at Mecca about 570. His 
father did not live to see the son's birth, and his mother died 
while he was still a child. Mohammed was then cared for 
by his grandfather and, after the latter's death, by his oldest 
paternal uncle. He was kindly treated, but shared the 
hardships of a very poor family ; he herded sheep, and gathered 
wild berries in the desert. Little else is known of his youth. 

He was probably in his twenty-fifth year when he entered 
the house and business of a wealthy widow named Khadija. 
For her he went on commercial journeys, thus becoming 
acquainted with part of Palestine and Syria. Later he 
married the widow, who was much his senior. The marriage 
was happy and blessed with several children. The two 
sons, however, died young. His marriage enabled Moham- 
med to abandon mercantile pursuits and to turn his energies 
to a different line of action, to reflection and prayer. Every 
year he retired for about thirty days during the month of 
Ramadan to a cavern near Mecca, where he devoted his 
time to fasting and communing with God. He claimed to 
have had, at about the age of forty, a vision supposedly of 
the archangel Gabriel. Swoons, visions, and so-called 
revelations are characteristic features of the remaining period 
of his life. He appears to have passed through many doubts 
and much distress before he became imbued with the idea 
that he was the Prophet of God. 

He preached his doctrine first to the inhabitants of Mecca, 
who, however, with the exception of his wife and some of 
his relatives, refused to accept his teaching. They were 
attached to their national deities and probably feared. 



108 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

through a change of reHgion, the cessation of the pilgrimages 
to the city, which were a source of income to them. So strong 
was the opposition to Mohammed that he was finally com- 
pelled to leave Mecca and fled to Medina. This event is 
known as the Hegira or Flight. It took place in 622 and 
marks the beginning of the Mohammedan era. 

Mohammed's preaching was attended with better results 
at Medina; he made converts much more rapidly and with 
less difficulty. A considerable sprinkling of Jews, by spread- 
ing their belief in a coming prophet, had prepared the in- 
habitants for the reception and recognition of Mohammed. 
The number of followers whom he won over at Medina 
enabled him by force of arms to impose his teaching on 
some Arabian tribes. In 630 he was strong enough to 
capture Mecca and to bring it under his religious control. 
After destroying the idols which peopled the Kaaba he made 
it the centre of Mohammedan worship. Carrying his 
religion, sword in hand, from tribe to tribe, he had subjugated 
almost all Arabia when he died in 632 without leaving any 
male issue. 

119. Mohammed's Character. — It is disputed whether 
Mohammed was epileptic ; it is certain that he had a tendency 
to see visions and that he suffered from fits which threw 
him for a time into a swoon. He was always wandering on 
the borderland between illusion and reality. "His first 
revelations," as has been said, "were the almost natural 
outcome of his mode of life and habit of thought, and es- 
pecially of his physical constitution." Down to the year 
622 a sincere zeal is noticeable in his attempt to purify the 
national worship of Arabia. He commends tolerance and 
charity and appears as an apostle of penance. But after 
his discouraging experience at Mecca, he plans to establish 
by violence the kingdom of God and preaches a holy war. 
His ambition grows with his resources, and he forces his 
teaching on the Arabs. 

His success was due not only to the sword, however, but 



MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM 109 

also to his masterful eloquence. Moreover, his system was 
an improvement on the hitherto existing conditions in 
Arabia He introduced a milder treatment of slaves, forbade 
the taking of bloody revenge and introduced limitations m 
the practise of polygamy, if not for himself, at least for his 
followers. In spite of these advantages, due no doubt to 
Tewish and Christian influences, it is certain that Mohammed 
was not a divine prophet, as he claimed to be but an im- 
postor, at least during the latter part of his life. While at 
the beginning he may have believed in a mission which he 
had not received, his later revelations came at such sus- 
piciously opportune times and brought such manifest ad- 
vantage to his own personal interests that they cannot be 

accepted as genuine. ,, j ^ • 

120 Mohammed's Religion.— Mohammed s doctrine was 
committed to writing on loose palm-leaves and dry bones 
either by himself or, more probably, by some of his followers. 
These objects were collected after his death and the inscrip- 
tions published in one. book. This book is kriown as the 
Koran and forms, as it were, the Bible of the Mohammedans. 
A second book containing the unwritten sayings of the 
prophet, and consequently based on tradition, was compiled 
Lbout a century after his death. It is called the Sunnat 
(custom), but it is not received by all Mohammedans 

The three fundamental doctrines of Islam are: (1) Belief m 
one invisible God; (2) recognition of Mohammed as God s 
prophet- (3) belief in an everlasting but grossly sensual life 
after death The followers of the prophet must not only 
accept this teaching, they are also bound to live up to the 
following five great commandments: (1) External purifica- 
tions and ablutions prescribed for certain occasions; (2) the 
recitation of prayers five times a day, the face turned toward 
Mecca; (3) a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once durmg one s 
lifetime; (4) almsgiving; (5) fasting during the whole month 
of Ramadan from dawn until sunset. 

Mohammed considered and declared especially meritorious 



110 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the Spread of his reHgion by force of arms. His teaching of an 
unaherable fate or destiny, to which each individual is 
subject, impressed fatalism on Islam as one of its charac- 
teristic traits. 

II. Mohammedan Conquests and Civilization 

121. Mohammedan Conquests in Asia and Africa. — 

Mohammed was preparing an attack on Syria and the 
Greeks when he died. His successors, called Califs, who 
were invested with the highest civil and ecclesiastical dignity 
and authority, continued his work. They looked upon the 
spread of Islam with the sword as their chief task, and 
consequently, immediately after the prophet's death, they 
began the Holy War. Toward the east they rapidly con- 
quered Persia and advanced as far as India ; to the north and 
west they attacked the Eastern Empire and subjugated 
Palestine, vSyria, and Egypt. Continuing their advance 
westward they overran all North Africa, where Arabic has 
since remained the language of the inhabitants. In less 
than fifty years after Mohammed's death they had reached 
the Atlantic (681). 

122. Mohammedan Advance into Europe. — At the be- 
ginning of the eighth century the Arabs attacked Europe. 
They crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded Spain in 
711. The decisive victory of Xeres de la Fr outer a, which 
they won in the same year, delivered up to them this Chris- 
tian country, which they were to hold for almost 800 years. 
In 719 they penetrated into France, ravaged the valley of 
the Rhone as far as Lyons, and occupied Aquitaine. They 
pushed their conquests northward until they were thrown 
back by the Franks who, in 732, under the leadership of 
Charles Martel, defeated them in a great battle in the plain 
between Tours and Poitiers. 

It can be readily understood that this battle is one of 
the most important in history when it is realized that in it 



MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM 111 

the fate of the Christian reHgion and civiHzation was at 
stake. The hosts of Charles Martcl effectually arrested the 
progress of the Mohammedans and saved Europe from 
Islamism. So effectually indeed did they perform their 
task that, when in the later Middle Ages this deadly blight 
to religion and civilization again raised its head in Europe, 
it was not the vSemitic-Arabian opponents of Charles Martel 
but the Mongol Turks from an entirely different quarter 
who were its aggressive and most powerful representatives. 

123. Causes of the Rapid Spread of Islamism. — Few 
world empires were founded with the same lightning-like 
rapidity as the Arabic. The following reasons may be 
assigned for this extraordinary success : (1) The lack of provi- 
sions and even of the necessaries of life among the needy 
Arabs, who consequently had nothing to lose and everything 
to gain through a life of adventure and conquest. (2) The good 
pay received in the army, among which a large part of the 
booty was also distributed. (3) The patriotic sentiment of 
the Arabs, which was much more ardent than that of their 
Greek or Persian adversaries. (4) The numerous wars which 
divided and weakened the Greeks and Persians. (5) The 
intense and interminable religious disputes which, exerting 
their disastrous influence also on the political and national 
life, had divided the Eastern Empire and undermined its 
power of resistance. (6) The fact that the Eastern Emperors 
for some time did not realize the gravity of the threatening 
danger and took serious measures of defense only when it 
was already too late to prevent the permanent loss of most 
flourishing provinces^ 

124. Causes of the Political Disruption of the Moham- 
medan Dominions. — The swiftness with which the Arabs 
made their conquests was indeed astounding; but it included 
a great element of danger to the permanency of this 
vast empire. Extending from India to the Atlantic Ocean, 
the newly acquired dominions were too vast and comprised 
too many different races to remain long peacefully united 



112 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

under one and the same rtder. Mecca was the civil and 
rehgious capital of the Mohammedan world for a short 
time only. It always retained, indeed, its importance as a 
religious centre, but was replaced as the political capital 
first by Damascus, then by Bagdad. These frequent 
transfers of the seat of government point to a state of political 
unrest. The weakness of the Mohammedan world was still 
more strikingly revealed in its breaking up into three separate 
states or califates: that of Bagdad in Asia, that of Cordova 
in vSpain, and that of Cairo in Egypt. 

125. Arab Civilization; The Sciences. — In the countries 
which they conquered, the Arabs became acquainted with 
Hellenistic culture and civilization: their scientific produc- 
tions are as a result dependent to some extent on Greek 
models. While the West imitated Greece more in its oratori- 
cal and literary excellence, the Arabs devoted particular 
attention to the mathematical and physical sciences. Their 
principal author was Aristotle; but they also consulted 
extensively the astronomer Ptolemy. They may be con- 
sidered the founders of the physical sciences, since they were 
the first to use the method of experimentation. They 
studied mathematics, geometry, astronomy, developed 
algebra, and brought from India the figures which we still 
designate as the Arabic. They raised medicine to the 
dignity of a science; and so universally acknowledged was 
their superiority in medical knowledge that as late as the 
seventeenth century the works of the Arab Avicenna (980- 
1036) were studied in the universities of Europe. By their 
conquests and scientific journeys they also extended geo- 
graphical knowledge. In chemistry they contributed but 
little to the advancement of science, because in their experi- 
ments they sought the realization of two impossible aims. 
They endeavored to find the secret of changing all metals into 
gold and to discover the fabled elixir which would ensure long 
life and perennial youth to its possessor. 

126. Arab Letters and Art.— Till the time of Mohammed 



MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM 113 

the Arabs knew neither epic poetry nor the drama. They 
evinced, however, an extraordinary fondness iov fable, as the 
compilation of the "Thousand and One Nights" proves. 
The greatest epic poet of Islam is the Persian Ferdusi (ab. 
1000) who, in his "Book of Kings," sings the feats and ex- 
ploits of the Persians. 

The Koran forbade the representation of God or man 
through pictures and statues: a prohibition which affected 
in a most unfavorable manner the development of painting 
and sculpture among the Arabs. More notable was their 
success in architecture; but even here a development of a 
distinct Arab architecture is lacking, as they confined them- 
selves to the reproduction of Greek and Persian models. Their 
monuments have neither the imposing grandeur of Roman art 
nor the charming simplicity of Greek masterpieces. Their 
merit and characteristic feature lies in a tasteful use of inter- 
laced lines and convoluted curves: a system of fanciful, 
charming, and playful ornamentations to which the world 
has given the name of arabesques. The architectural skill 
of the Arabs found expression more particularly in the con- 
struction of mosques and palaces. The most celebrated 
among the former was the mosque, now the cathedral, of 
Cordova, with its 19 aisles and more than 900 columns. 
Among the palaces the most celebrated was the Alhambra 
in Granada, which was built in the fourteenth century and is 
now the most beautiful ruin in the world. In it the art of 
Islam reached its highest perfection. 

127. Industry and Commerce. — Industry and commerce 
also flourished among the Arabs soon after the establish- 
ment of their world-empire. They excelled especially in 
the working of metals (Damascus steel), the weaving of 
silk fabrics (damask), and the preparation of leather 
(morocco). They learned from the Chinese the manu- 
facture of paper. In industry, as in the sciences, they were 
the teachers of the Christians; and, in commerce, they 
were the first people of the Middle Ages. On their com- 



114 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

mercial journeys they penetrated as far east as China. 
They spread the cultivation of the mulberry-tree and in- 
troduced rice, the sugar-cane, cotton, and spices in Europe. 
Their importance as a commercial people is demonstrated 
even by the words borrowed from the Arabic for stuffs 
(damask, muslin), for household articles (baldachin, 
mattress), for articles of consumption (coffee, alcohol, 
syrup, sugar), for commercial and naval affairs (tariff, 
magazine, admiral, arsenal). 

It is important to note, however, that Arab conquest and 
civilization were not solely the work of Arabs, but must in 
part be credited to the newly converted or newly conquered 
peoples. Many so-called Arab scholars, architects or 
merchants were, in fact, Persians, Syrians, Greeks or Span- 
iards. The historic importance of the Arab empire lies in 
the fact that it united peoples of different race and character, 
brought together and combined conflicting civilizations and 
was the intermediary, the active agent, in the fusion, as it 
were, of western Europe and the Asiatic world. 

Bibliography 

Draycott, G. M., Mahomet: Founder of Islam. (Dodd, Mead, New 

York, 1916.) 
Lane- Poole, S., The Speeches and Tahle-Talk of Mohammed. (Mac- 

millan, New York, 1905.) 
Margoliouth, D. S., Mohammed ajid the Rise of Islam. (Putnam, New 

York, 1905.) 
Muir-Weir, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall from Original 

Sources. (Grant, Edinburgh, 1915.) 
Scott, S. P., History of the Moorish Empire in Europe. 3 vols. (Lip- 

pincott, Philadelphia, 1904.) 



CHAPTER XI 
THE CHURCH FROM 476 TO 800 

I. The Papacy 

128. The Spiritual Power of the Popes. — A twofold power 
was exercized by the Popes in the course of time : the spiritual 
and the temporal. This twofold authority must be carefully 
distinguished because it differed in origin, character and 
duration. The spiritual power vested in the Popes is divine 
in its origin, supernatural in its character, and permanent in 
its duration. Their temporal power is, on the contrary, 
human in its origin, natural in character, and, as a matter of 
fact, has been temporary and interrupted in duration. 

The spiritual power was conferred by Jesus Christ himself 
on St. Peter and the Popes, his successors, by the words: 
"Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, 
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I 
will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And 
whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be bound also 
in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall 
be loosed also in heaven."^ Our Lord thus made Peter the 
supreme head and ruler of His Church, the Prince or highest 
of the Apostles. Peter, after founding the Church of Rome, 
handed down the highest authority or primacy to his suc- 
cessors in the same see. For this reason Catholics from 
the outset looked upon the Bishop of Rome as the first 
among all bishops, as the supreme ruler of all Christians. 
He was appealed to by other churches in doubts and diffi- 
culties, and his decisions were looked upon as final in all 
matters of doctrinal controversy. It is true that during the 
period of persecutions, papal authority could not be exer- 
cized freely and openly, but it nevertheless existed and was 
destined to shine forth in all its splendor with the triumph of 
Christianity over persecution and Rom.an absolutism in 313. 

1 Matth. xvi. 18-19. 

115 



116 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

129. The Temporal Power of the Popes.— The authority 
of the Popes did not remain confined to spiritual things. 
Their prestige in worldly affairs increased steadily and to 
their dignity of spiritual rulers was added that of temporal 
sovereigns. This additional power grew to a large extent 
out of the circumstances of the time, which are briefly 
indicated in the following enumeration. (1) The reception 
by the Popes, through the generosity and piety of the faithful, 
of large donations of land in all parts of Italy. (2) The 
transfer of the imperial residence to Constantinople, which 
left them the sole great dignitaries in Rome. (3) The 
leading part which they played in calming the fears and 
relieving the distress of the inhabitants of Italy during the 
calamities which befell the peninsula in the fifth and sub- 
sequent centuries. (4) Their defense of Rome against the 
Lombards. (5) The donations of Pippin and Charlemagne, 
which increased the Popes' possessions and sanctioned their 
political power. (6) The eminent qualities and conspicuous 
services to mankind of some of the Popes such as Leo I, 
the Great, and Gregory the Great. Owing to these circum- 
stances, the people of Italy gradually became accustomed to 
look upon the Popes as the leaders in all Roman and Italian 
affairs. 

130. St. Gregory I, the Great (590-604).— The founder of 
the medieval power of the papacy was Gregory I, the Great, 
whose reign ranks among the most important in the annals 
of the Church. He was born in Rome and was descended 
from a rich and noble family. After filling a high position 
in the service of the state, he renounced the world, sold his 
inheritance, distributed part of the proceeds among the poor 
and devoted the rest to the foundation of seven monasteries, 
six in Sicily and one at Rome in his own palace. He became 
a monk in the latter monastery and observed the rule with 
such exactness that he ruined his health. So universal was 
his popularity in Rome that he was later unanimously elected 
to the papacy by senate, clergy, and people. During his 



THE CHURCH FROM 176 TO 800 117 

pontificate he zealously furthered the conversion of the 
Lombards from paganism and of the Visigoths from heresy, 
sent missionaries to the Anglo-Saxons, succeeded in uplifting 
the ecclesiastical state and in relieving much of the existing 
misery and distress. Amidst these numerous and absorbing 
occupations, he found time for literary pursuits and the 
reform of Church music. His Pastoral Rule was one of the 
widely used books of the Middle Ages, and his name has been 
perpetuated in the expression "Gregorian Chant," which is 
still applied to the special features introduced by him in 
ecclesiastical singing. His saying that frequently he could 
not tell whether he filled the office of a bishop or that of a 
secular ruler aptly expresses his position in the disorganized 
state of a disappearing Roman world and of the newly 
founded barbarian kingdoms. His energetic efforts and 
powerful influence made of Rome in the Middle Ages the 
intellectual centre of Christian Europe. Always forgetful 
of self he took the title "Servant of the Servants of God'' 
which has ever since been retained by his successors on the 
papal throne. 

II. MONASTICISM 

131. The Meaning of Monasticism. — Monasticism denotes 
essentially seclusion or withdrawal from the world, and aims 
at a higher Christian perfection in the observance of the 
evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. 
Although based on Our Lord's teaching as contained in the 
Sacred Scriptures, it was developed in the Church only by 
slow degrees. Its forerunners were the Ascetics, i. e., 
persons of both sexes who in the first centuries, without 
leaving their homes, observed continence, renounced prop-- 
erty, and devoted their lives to the poor and needy. Its 
first real exponents were the Solitaries or Anchorites who, 
in the time of persecution, left home and family and sought 
peace and safety in the desert. Some of them became so 
attached to this new mode of life, in which they could serve 



118 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

God unhampered by the distractions and troubles of this 
world, that they continued it even after the cessation of the 
persecutions. "At first these hermits were simple laymen; 
they lived apart without dependence on any common superior. 
Their only rule was the teaching of Christ and the inspiration 
of the Holy Spirit. Little by little, disciples began to flock 
to one or another of these hermits, the fame of whose holiness 
was noised abroad. Thus wSt. Anthony, in his later years, 
allowed a number of other hermits to gather round his cell 
and to lead a life of prayer and penance under his direction. 
Such heterogeneous groups were held together at the outset 
solely by the individual good-will of the members, but, as 
their number increased, some definite organization became 
necessary. This was supplied by the Abbot Pachomius, 
who modified the tradition of the desert by the adaptation 
of its spirit to the conditions of the cenobitic or community 
life. Regular monasteries now began to be formed, and 
they soon became the ordinary place for training in the 
spiritual life. For a time, almost every monastery lived 
according to its own rule. Gradually, however, the rule of 
St. Basil, which was specially adapted to local requirements, 
became the almost universal code of monastic life in the 
East."^ 

132. St. Benedict (490-543) and Monastic Life in the 
West. — As the rule of St. Basil was tmiversally adopted in 
the east, so that of St. Benedict quickly spread and was soon 
generally followed in the west. St. Benedict was born at 
Nursia in Italy about 490. He was the son of a Roman 
noble and was perhaps a twin with his sister Scholastica. 
His parents came with him to Rome, where he spent his 
boyhood and attended the schools. Abandoning the pros- 
pects of a successful worldly career, he retired into solitude 
and became the founder of the great monastery of Monte 
Cassino, the mother-house of the Benedictine order and for a 
long time th e monastic centre of the West. He also com- 

' Paschal Robinson in Calh. Univ. Bull., Nov.. 1916, p. 144. 



THE CHURCH FROM 476 TO 800 119 

posed a rule in which he enjoined upon the monks the twofold 
duty of prayer and work. The kind of work to which the 
monks were to devote themselves was not specified ; it would 
be determined by the circumstances of time and place. As 
a consequence, the Benedictines became the farmers, school- 
masters, and missionaries of the early Middle Ages. They 
taught the Germanic nations the arts of civilization, and the 
material and intellectual progress of the medieval period 
was effected under their guidance and inspiration. They 
taught the roving barbarians the art of tilling the soil; 
they copied the ancient literary treasures and thus saved 
them at least in part for posterity ; they kept alive the flame 
of ecclesiastical knowledge and maintained schools for the 
education of youth; they became the counsellors of kings 
and exercized considerable political influence; but above all 
they preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ and brought 
Western Europe under the benign and civilizing influence of 
the Christian Church. 

The monks, whether they followed the Benedictine or 
some other rule, were originally almost exclusively laymen. 
The number of priests increased only gradually among them, 
and it was only after several centuries that they began to 
form the majority. 

III. Irish AND Anglo-Saxon Monks; The Con- 
version OF THE Germans 

133. Missionary Labors of Irish Monks. — The most active 
missionaries of the period came from the islands of the 
west: first from Ireland which had been spared the destruc- 
tion and devastation of the migration of the nations, and 
at a later date from England. In the seventh century 
Ireland sent numerous missionaries to the European continent 
in general and to Germany in particular. St. Columban, 
the most prominent among them, and St. Gall, his disciple, 
preached the Gospel among the Alemanni. The former, 



120 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

after working with ardent zeal and partial success at the 
reform of morals among the Franks, proceeded to Switzer- 
land, where he devoted his energy to the destruction of 
paganism and the introduction of Christianity. Later he 
went southward and founded in northern Italy the monastery 
of Bobbio, where he died in 615. His companion, St. Gall, 
came with him as far as Switzerland, where he founded a 
monastery and worked until the end of his days at the con- 
version of the natives. His name remained attached to his 
monastic foundation and to one of the Swiss cantons. Not 
only Switzerland, but southern and central Germany also, 
were evangelized by Irish missionaries. The great Apostle 
of Germany, however, was the Englishman, Winfrid, better 
known under the Latin name of Boniface. 

134. St. Boniface, Missionary, Organizer, and Reformer 
(ab. 680-755). — Saint Boniface was born at Crediton in 
Devonshire, England. He embraced the monastic life and 
became the greatest missionary of the eighth century. 
Although he is more especially known as a very successful 
preacher, he was also a great practical organizer and a most 
zealous reformer of ecclesiastical abuses. As a preacher of 
the Gospel to the heathen he worked particularly among 
the Frisians, Thuringians, and Hessians; as an organizer he 
appeared in Bavaria whereas as a reformer he labored chiefly 
among the Franks. 

1. Missionary. — St. Boniface undertook his first miss- 
ionary journey in 716 to Frisia, but after a short stay 
in the country returned to his native England, as the Frisians 
were then at war with the Pranks. Two years later he 
resumed his missionary work, first went to Rome, was 
commissioned by the Pope (Gregory II) to preach the Gospel 
to the heathen nations and returned by way of Germany 
to the Frisians. He now labored successfully among the 
latter for three years and then went to Germany, from 
whence he addressed a report of his work to the Apostolic 
See. The Pope in answer summoned him to Rome, conse- 



THE CHURCH FROM 476 TO 800 121 

crated him bishop and sent him back to Germany (722). 
Great success continued to attend the efforts of the ardent 
missionary. This wais particularly the case after his de- 
struction, among the Hessians, of the sacred oak of Thor, 
out of the wood of which he erected a church in honor of 
St. Peter. The felling of this sacred tree was, in the eyes of 
the pagans, a proof of the powerlessness of their false gods. 
They now accepted in large numbers the Christian religion. 

2. Organizer. — In 737 Boniface undertook a third journey 
to Rome to consult with the Pope, who had recently created 
him archbishop. He was received in the friendliest manner 
at the papal court and remained for almost a year in the 
Eternal City. With his return to Germany as Legate 
Apostolic begins in a more particular manner his activity as 
organizer. Christianity had been preached and accepted in 
Bavaria at an earlier date; but the Bavarian Church had 
fallen into a state of disorder and decline. St. Boniface 
brought order out of chaos by dividing the country into four 
dioceses ([Freising] Munich, Ratigbon, Salzburg, and Passau), 
and by appointing worthy bishops to these sees. He es- 
tablished bishoprics also in the districts newly evangelized 
by him, and must be. considered the founder of the ecclesias- 
tical hierarchy in Germany. 

3. Reformer. — His work of reform could begin seriously 
in the Prankish Church only after the death of Charles 
Martel (741). For Charles had shown little willingness to 
cooperate in such an undertaking. As his successors were 
more sympathetic in their attitude, several councils were held 
and enacted wholesome measures for the suppression of 
abuses. The pagan practises still lingering among the con- 
verted people were forbidden. The clergy were enjoined 
to observe, in their manner of life, the rules laid down in 
ecclesiastical law. The observance of the measures them- 
selves by clergy and people was secured by a more thorough 
diocesan organization and by the appointment of a virtuous 
and efficient episcopate. 



122 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Desirous of concluding his apostolic life in the country in 
which it had begun, Boniface floated down the Rhine with 
52 companions and resumed his work of missionary among 
the Frisians. The apostolic band met with considerable 
success and effected numerous conversions. A tenible 
catastrophe, unfortunately, put a sudden end to their work. 
When on June 5, 755, some newly converted Christians 
were to receive the sacrament of confirmation near Dokhum, 
by the northern sea, a band of armed pagans suddenly 
appeared on the scene and massacred Boniface and his 
fellow-missioners. Thus perished the great Apostle who 
effected the lasting conversion of the Germans, restored 
ecclesiastical discipline among the Franks, and was, every- 
where he went, one of the mightiest promoters of papal 
power. 

Bibliography 

Bardenhcwer-Shahan, Patrology. (Herder, St. Louis, 1908.) 
Duchesnc-Mathew, The Beginnings of the Temporal Sovereignty of the 

Popes. (Benziger, New York, 1908.) 
Metlake, G., The Life and Writings of St. Columban. (Dolphin Press 

Philadelphia, 1914.) 
Snow, Right Rev. Abbot, St. Gregory, His Work and His Times. 

(Hodges, London, 1892.) 
Williamson, J. M., The Life and Times of St. Boniface. (Frowde, 

London, 1904.) 



SECOND EPOCH 

FROM THE CORONATION OF CHARLEMAGNE TO 
THE END OF THE CRUSADES (800-1270) 

135. General Statement. — During this period the work of 
transforming the Germanic barbarians into one great family 
of Christian nations is continued by the Cathohc Church 
and brought to a successful termination. The Church 
so successfully exerts her moderating and refining influence 
over the manners and morals of the people that the centuries 
under treatment are the flourishing period of the Middle Ages. 
In it we witness : 

1. The papal power at its height. The papacy issues 
triumphant from its struggle with the empire, and during the 
pontificate of Innocent III (1198-1216) wields the greatest 
power it has ever exercized during the long period of its 
existence. 

2. The Crusades, i.e., those religious and military expedi- 
tions in which all Christendom unites in a common effort 
for the conquest of the Holy Land from the Saracens. 

3. The foundation and development of the universities. 

4. A magnificent development of Gothic art and the erection 
of the remarkable medieval cathedrals. 

5. The prevalence of a thoroughly Christian spirit in the polit- 
ical, social, scientific and artistic world. An attack upon 
religious principles, upon the established Catholic Church, is 
considered at the same time an attack upon the state, so 
intimate is the connection that exists between them. 



123 



1 



CHAPTER XII 
THE EMPIRE OF CHARLEMAGNE AND ITS DISRUPTION 

136. General Character of the Empire of Charlemagne.— 

The empire of Charlemagne shows in typical fashion the inti- 
mate union of the three principal factors of medieval develop- 
ment: (1) The Christian; (2) The Ancient; (3) The Ger- 
manic. 

1. The Christian Element. — Charlemagne became, by his 
imperial coronation, the highest protector of the Church, and 
the Church, in its turn, was constituted the strongest tie 
uniting the different parts of his dominions. As universal 
protector of the Catholic faith, he considered the establish- 
ment of the kingdom of God on earth his principal duty and 
mission. This is clearly apparent in the oath of allegiance 
which he demanded of his subjects and in which the service 
of God is mentioned as the first obligation binding upon 
them. It is evidenced also in the great interest which he 
exhibited in ecclesiastical government and the appointment 
of worthy bishops and abbots. In the many wars which he 
waged the religious motive occupied a most important place : 
they were mostly undertaken against the infidel and contrib- 
uted to the spread and maintenance of the Christian religion. 

2. The Element oj Antiquity. — The conferring of the im- 
perial crown did not mean the creation of a new power, but 
the restoration of the dignity as it existed in ancient Rome. 
Not only did this title recall Roman institutions, but the Latin 
language was used by state as well as by Church; it was in 
Latin also that the literary productions of the time were 
written. Moreover, the contemporary literature found in- 
spiration in ancient models of the later classical age. Thus 
the influence of the ancient civilization continued to assert 
itself in spite of barbarian domination. This was particularly 
the case in the large part of the empire which was completely 
latinized. 

124 



THE EMPIRE OP CHARLEMAGNE 125 

3. The Germanic Element. — The empire included not only 
almost all the Latin nations of Europe; it embraced also 
nearly all the Germanic peoples of the continent. The dynasty 
itself was Germanic and hailed from Austrasia. The laws 
of the state were founded on the German codes, and the 
government was in the hands of the invaders. Charle- 
magne himself must be looked upon as the founder of Ger- 
man literature, since he demanded that the clergy teach the 
people the Our Father, the Creed, and the fundamental 
religious truths in the vernacular. 

137. Louis the Pious (814-840).— The vast and hetero- 
geneous empire which Charlemagne had created was held 
together by his overwhelming greatness and commanding 
personality. His death in 814 marked at the same time the 
beginning of the disruption of the unwieldy Prankish state. 
It was first divided into separate kingdoms, and these in the 
course of the ninth and tenth centuries broke up into a multi- 
tude of provinces or principalities. Out of the one Carolingian 
empire were formed the small and loosely connected feudal 
states of medieval Europe. The causes of the empire's rapid 
decline were: (1) The weak and changeable character of 
Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son and successor; (2) the 
division of the empire and the disputes among the rival 
rulers; (3) the lack of internal cohesion; (4) the inroads of 
foreign nations. 

Charlemagne's successor, Louis, was surnamed by his 
contemporaries the Pious. He was kind, just, and generous; 
his weakness of character, however, rendered him unfit for 
the government of any state, but particularly of such a 
composite empire as was left to him by his father. His two 
wars with his sons, caused by his divisions of the empire, 
form the principal topic of the history of his reign. 

Por his three elder sons Lothair, Pippin, and Louis, sur- 
named the German, he divided his dominions in 817 into 
three kingdoms. In theory the empire continued in exist- 
ence, but it was partitioned into three administrative 



126 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

divisions. The rulers of those remained subject to their 
father's authority; they were to conform to his instructions 
and to follow his directions. One of them, Lothair, their 
senior, was designated as his father's successor, and was 
associated with him in the imperial government. 

In 823 a fourth son, Charles, later surnamed the Bald, was 
born to Louis the Pious. The father, desirous of giving him 
also a kingdom, attempted to make a new territorial division 
and to reduce the size of the kingdoms already organized. 
There followed a rebellion of the three elder brothers against 
their father and war between the two parties. In the 
military operations Louis the Pious was taken prisoner 
{S33), and forced to pronounce a public confession, in which 
he accused himself of perjury, sacrilege, and murder. He 
renounced his crown, divested himself of his sword, donned 
the garb of a public penitent, was confined in a monastery, 
and declared incapable of return to secular life. 

But this excessive and unjust humiliation caused a revul- 
sion of public feeling in favor of the illustrious penitent. 
His cause gained further ground when it became apparent 
that Lothair aimed at securing control of the whole empire. 
The two brothers Louis and Pippin, unwilling to recognize 
such authority in him, raised their father from his lowly'state 
and again placed him on the throne (834) . 

Shortly afterwards Pippin died, and Louis the Pious con- 
ferred his dominions on Charles the Bald. This action, 
though apparently very natural, led to a new civil and 
family war. But before a decision could be reached in the 
struggle, Louis the Pious died (840). 

138. The Treaty of Verdun (843).— Lothair 's ambitious 
plan was now to secure undivided control of all his father's 
dominions. His efforts were frustrated by the alliance 
which his two remaining brothers, Louis and Charles, con- 
cluded at Strasburg in a treaty which is the first document 
preserved in the vernacular. Lothair was forced to yield 
to his two brothers and to sign the Treaty of Verdun in 843. 



THE EMPIRE OF CHARLEMAGNE 127 

In this treaty a new territorial division was a^Teed upon as 
follows: Lothair retained the imperial title and received as 
his share a strip of land stretchinj^^ from the Mediterranean 
to the North Sea. It was the middle kin^^dom which from 
the name Lothair was subsequently called Lotharin^na, 
Lorraine. All the territory east of this kinj^^dom fgll to 
Louis, all the land west of it to Charles. 

The Treaty of Verdun definitely separated two parts of the 
Prankish state: East Frankland and West Frankland. East 
Frankland became Germany; West Frankland constituted 
the kin^^dom of France. Between the two the kingdom of 
Lothair in less than fifty years broke up into several states; 
south of the Alps it formed the kingdom of Italy, north of 
them the kingdom of Burgundy or Aries. Further north still 
lay Lotharingia or Lorraine, which for a thousand years has 
been the bone of contention between France and Germany 
and one of the principal battlegrounds of Europe. 

139. The Absence of Internal Cohesion in the Empire. — 
Charlemagne's commanding personality, supported by the 
unifying strength of the Church, had held a heterogeneous 
empire together. After his death the elements of division 
and disintegration gained the upper hand. Among these 
factors of dissolution must be mentioned: (1) The difference 
of language between the Gallo-Romans and the Germans. 
This difference is illustrated, in a striking manner, in the 
oath of vStrasburg, which was taken in two languages, the 
Germanic and Romance, because the two armies already 
spoke two different tongues and could no longer understand 
each other. (2) The absence of frequent commercial relations 
which would have formed a link between the different parts 
of the empire. (3) The development of the feudal system. 
After the death of Charlemagne, the public offices, as for 
example the countships, were granted as fiefs and endowed 
with abundant revenues. The feudal system thus not only 
gained important political influence, but became the basis of 
the whole organization of the medieval state. It had the 



128 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

advantage of furnishing an outlet to the warlike temperament 
of the Gennanic nations. But it brought also in its train 
the two principal evils from which medieval states suffered: 
the continuous neighborhood warfare among the nobility and 
the insubordination of the vassals towards the king. Insub- 
ordination was so rife that it seemed almost to be the normal 
state. The weakness of the royal power is best illustrated by 
saying that disobedience to it was not considered a moral 
stain. The king could claim authority only over his own 
vassals; and these, on the one hand, frequently disregarded 
his commands, and, on the other, neglected to transmit them 
to those over whom the king had no direct jurisdiction. 
The royal authority was still further weakened when, about 
the year 900, the fiefs became hereditary and formed powerful 
provinces which were bound to the king by no other tie than 
the oath of allegiance lightly assumed but rarely kept by 
the local lord. 

140. New Invasions. — The disintegration of the Carolin- 
gian empire, like the destruction of the Roman empire, was 
hastened by the invasion of barbarians. New invaders 
assailed the Carolingian monarchy on all sides. In the east, 
Germany was attacked by the Slavs and Hungarians. In 
the south, the Saracens continued their conquests along the 
Mediterranean. In the west and north, the Northmen or, 
Normans carried on their depredations. 

1. The Slavs and Hungarians. The Slavic tribes which 
Charlemagne had subjugated or reduced to tribute rebelled 
after his death. One of them, the Moravians, succeeded in 
establishing a powerful and independent state on the eastern 
frontier of Germany. Their empire was, however, only of 
short duration. It was destroyed about 905 by the Magyars 
or Hungarians, a people of Tartar origin. The Hungarians 
made numerous incursions into Prankish territory, advanced 
as far as South France and South Italy, but, after their 
decisive defeat in 955 by Otto the Great, they settled per- 
manently in the country now occupied by their descendants. 



THE EMPIRE OF CHARLEMAGNE 129 

2. The Saracens. The Arabs or Saracens, from Africa as 
their base of operations, occupied vSicily in the reign of Louis 
the Pious and ravaged the coasts of Italy and southern 
France. 

3. The Normans. More important in the history of wes- 
tern Europe than the preceding invasions were the incursions 
and the settlements of the Normans. These barbarians came 
from Scandinavia, t. e., Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. 
They were of Gennanic race, but, unlike the former German 
invaders, they proceeded by water rather than by land. 
The probable causes of the raids and expeditions of these 
Vikings or sea-rovers, as they have been called, were the 
poverty of their native land, a too numerous population 
to be supported at home, and their great love of adventure. 
Although they became acquainted with Christianity in the 
first half of the ninth century, their conversion was com- 
pleted and their incursions came to an end only in the 
eleventh century. Their attacks were directed especially 
against cities situated on large rivers, because there plunder 
was greatest and access easiest. As France was richer in 
cities than Germany, she was visited and raided longer and 
more frequently. The attacks on Germany came to an 
end in 892; the raids on France ceased only with the per- 
manent cession of territory to the Normans in 912. King 
Charles the Simple, unable to defend his realm effectively, 
came to an agreement with their leader, Rollo. A treaty was 
concluded in which the king gave the barbarian leader terri- 
tory along the northern coast of France, the title of Duke, 
and his daughter in marriage. Rollo, on his part, promised 
to acknowledge the French king as his suzerain and to accept 
Christianity as his religion. The land ceded to the invaders 
was soon called Normandy, from the name of its new settlers. 
From this new home the Normans set out for the conquest of 
England in 1066. Throughout the period of their invasions 
the Normans revealed themselves not only as daring seamen, 
but also as capable organizers of states. They laid the 
foundation of modern Russia in the ninth century, pushed as 



J30 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

far as Iceland, Greenland, and the North American conti- 
nent in the tenth, and founded an empire in Sicily and Lower 
Italy in the eleventh century. 

141. The End of the Carolingians.— The invasions dis- 
cussed in the preceding question not only resulted in the 
establishment of new states, but they also brought about 
further political divisions in the fonner empire of Charles the 
Great and led in France to a change of dynasty. The end of 
the degenerate Carolingians was not unlike the disappearance 
of the weak and powerless Merovingians. The Italian 
branch, i.e., the branch which ruled for a time over the 
Middle Kingdom, died out in 875; a similar fate overtook 
the German Carolingians in the death of Louis the Child 
(911). In France, though for a long time divested of real 
power, they occupied the throne until 987. In that year the 
nobles and bishops of the kingdom elected the brave Hugh 
Capet, Count of Paris, as their king, and thus placed the 
dynasty of the Capetians on the throne. 

The growing weakness of the rulers both in France and in 
Germany, the decline of the central authority and its inability 
to defend its subjects, had as their natural and necessary 
result the organization of self-defense undertaken by the 
powerful nobles and the various provinces of the two king- 
doms. France and Germany came, in this political trans- 
formation, to be divided into powerful duchies and counties 
which could act independently and repel a foreign aggressor. 
The power which dukes and counts thus assumed in self- 
defense was soon used also to free themselves from royal 
control and to resist royal interference. The authority 
of the king was virtually non-existent, and it would be more 
accurate to speak of as many states a^ there were duchies and 
counties than of one state ruled by one monarch. 

Bibliography 

Emcrton, E., Mediaeval Europe. (Ginn, Boston, 1901.) 

Haskins, C. H., The Normans in European History. (Houghton 

Mifflin, New York, 1915.) 
Vambery, A., The Story of Hungary. (Putnam, New York, 1891.) 



CHAPTER XIII 
GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 

I. Emperors of the Saxon Dynasty 

142. The Beginning of the Saxon Dynasty in Germany.— 

The treaty of Verdun, which divided the former empire of 
Charlemagne into three great kingdoms, did not permanently 
attach the imperial dignity to any one of them. In the tenth 
century only, did Germany come into lasting possession of 
this coveted honor. The country was then divided into 
several duchies formed by different races: the Saxons, the 
Franconians, the Bavarians, and the Suabians. The dukes 
at the head of these tribes became the candidates for the 
imperial and royal crowns which were worn successively by 
Saxon, Franconian, and Suahian princes. 

The first king of the Saxon dynasty, which was to reign for 
a little over a century (919-1024), was Henry I, surnamed 
the Fowler. Henry (919-936), skilful and energetic, suc- 
cessfully defended his kingdom against invaders from the 
east, notably the Hungarians, enlarged the old fortresses, 
constructed new ones, and established several marches or 
frontier districts under military control for the defense of 
the eastern border. He also accustomed the Saxons to 
city life and cavalry service. Up to his time they had shown 
great reluctance to dwelling in cities, but now submitted to 
the restrictions which it imposed on their roving habits. 
As soldiers they were accustomed chiefly to fighting on foot. 
But the mobility of the Hungarian horsemen made a new 
method of warfare necessary, and the Saxons, under the 
practical direction of their king, soon formed a cavalry 
capable of offering an effective resistance to their fierce 
opponents. The results of this work of organization became 
apparent particularly under King Henry's successor, Otto 
the Great. 

131 



13J THE CHRISTIAN V K A 

143. Otto I, the Great, ^036-973) ; His Internal Policy.— 
Ouo had hardly ro.vixod the nn-al crown ai Aix-la-Cliaivlle 
when some of his dukes reMled against him. He pn^niptly 
suKiued thorn, and. after the suppression of tlie rebellion. 
aMitorred the ducal dignity on near relatives only. The 
administration of- the entire kingdom wnth its subdixnsions 
w-as thus concentrated in the hands of one family. The 
k-ing had hoped to suppress, in this manner, all opposition 
to his rule. He was to be disappointed in his expectations, 
for some of the very relatives he had raised to high positions 
rose in rebellion against him. In face of such ingratitude, 
he resol\*ed permanently to weaken the ducal powder and to 
rely on the Church for support. Instead of investing lay 
princes with important fiefs, he endowed archbislioprics and 
bishoprics with \-ast estates, and appointed to these sees 
men of unquestioned lo\-alty. As these ecclesiastical estates 
could not become hereditary in the same family, they did not 
present the same danger for the kingship as the great fiefs 
held by lay lords. After thus firmly establishing his power 
at home. Otto I was in a position more freely to devote his 
attention to foreign, notably Italian, affairs. 

144. Otto*s Eitemal Policy; Expeditions to Italy. — In liis 
dealing with the nations li\-ing to the east of Gennany, Otto 
like liis father, strove, with success, to extend German 
influence and to spread Christianity. His most signal 
triumph was his \-ictor\- over the Hungarians in 955, which, 
in its crushing effect, forever put an end to their invasions.* 
The results of this \~ictors', as already indicated, were the 
settlement of the Hungarians in the coimtT\' which still 
beai^ their name and the introduction of Christianity among 
them. 

Otto's dealings with Italy form a most important chapter 
in the history of his reign. At the treaty of Verdun that 
countr\- had been assigned to Lothair. Since then it had 
fallen apart into many feudal principaHties. The papacy 
had greatly suffered amidst the attending disorders and 



become the horr. 
In- ' 

in r 

Mindiui ot e 
restryre '— ^ 
which r. 
The - 

mrjortant r 



135 



Jies of the R-Oi r ar nobilirr. 



Chsrienagne. Otto 5005^ to 
-^TrLTTce of 



:rred m 951 and resnlted in the sub- 

"'^'" ''V'/rf'Tth ^ras held bj rte 

- - -~" '- — The EecotLfi and most 

'- lasted from 961 to 965. It was mider- 

*'-'-"' ■' ' ■"-•- an appeal for a^-^istance trnnL Pope 

- :e attthorit^r in Rome -^ras threatened gt 

die lj--rDbs:::<l kin;r- Ottc proceeded to Rome 

- .: — - _ jjntering resistance, and in reward for his se^rfces 

wa.?, ::kr Charlemagne, crowned -^npero-r b~ die Potie on 

Febr:^- 2. 962. 

Fr '^ this renewal of the emi-^re cn^v-arc. the imti^erial 
'icT- :y was reserved to the German kings, and whh ihe vear 
-Ins the Holy Roman Empzr? of ^ 'l^rman Xcztwn. 
-:^ .^=ted, at least m name, untd 1806. After 962 the 
jenjoan king usuajj— wore three iiro'wns: as ruler of German^ 
":-'- -' ' -' 7' -.71 which he recei-ed 2t Aix-:a-Chapei:e : ~s 
-^m.^' :: — imiar'lj. the /rcTw C''JU'w winrfi was cc'cferrel -zhi 
him at ^Igtjzs. near ^lilan: as Enmeror. the Qjuien '~ 

^»T^h — - -- - . -^ D^^^ 



of the half- 

crc- 



oan^ 



134 THE CHR \TIAN ERA 

old son crowned joint emperor/ and now openly avowed his 
plan of conquering Lower Italy. He was unable to carry 
this ambitious scheme into effect, but it was to be taken up 
later more energetically by some of his successors. 

145. General Results of the Imperial Expeditions to Italy. 
— The close connection of the German kingship with the 
imperial dignity brought with it important results both for 
the papacy and Germany. It led to the numerous Italian 
expeditions which took the kings away from their own 
country at a time when their presence was most necessary 
at home. These frequent and at times protracted absences 
led to rebellions among the nobility and to attacks by hostile 
frontier tribes. In striving after the establishment of a 
universal empire, the German kings sought to grasp an ever- 
vanishing phantom and became involved in the bitterest 
conflicts with the papacy. The fact that the imperial dignity 
added prestige to the royal title, that the journeys to Rome 
maintained the connection between ancient civilization and 
the North, and that through them German national senti- 
ment was aroused and strengthened affords but inadequate 
compensation for the disadvantages of an ifapossibl'e imperial 
policy. 

146. The Last Emperors of the Saxon Dynasty.— Otto the 
Great was succeeded by his son Otto II, who reigned for 
ten years (973-983). After triumphing completely over a 
conspiracy organized against him at home, he undertook a 
campaign for the conquest of southern Italy. He gained, 
indeed, some successes in the expedition, but was ultimately 
defeated by his enemies, ?-r\ t^orthward, and shortly after 

1 ... p ., He left the throne to his three ven^ old son, 

' " ' • ruler, 

)ther, 
.1 with 
as of a 
me of 
sed as 



GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 135 

barbarian, but Italy was to form the main part of the empire 
and Rome was to become its capital. He died before he 
could put any such plan into execution and left the throne 
to the last representative of the dynasty, Henry, the second 
of the name. The new king was well versed in the culture 
of his day, but was, above all, calculating and practical in 
administrative affairs. He had been destined for the priest- 
hood and was thoroughly familiar with the practises and 
needs of the Church. He extended to it his po 
tection, realizing full well that he was thus dc 
own interests, since he had to rely principally on 
of churchmen in his government of the stat Ke ..jis'^ 
afforded protection to the lower classes of society as against 
the feudal lords, and was ever active in maintaining and 
enforcing public peace and security. It is a fact worthy of 
note that both he and his wife Kunigunde have been placed 
by the Church among her canonized Saints. 

II. The Franconian or Salian Emperors (1024- 
1125). The Investiture Quarrel 

147. Accession of the Franconian Dynasty; Some Leading 
Events in its History.— Conrad II (1024-1039), related on 
the maternal side to the Saxon dynasty, was chosen to succeed 
Henry II, who had died childless. He became the founder 
of a new dynasty, that of the four Franconian emperors. 
Their reigns are notable for the following events: (1) The 
acquisition of the kingdom of Burgundy or Aries by the 
empire (1033) ; (2) the further extension and consolidation 
of the eastern frontiers in wars with the Slavs and Hunga- 
rians; (3) expeditions to Italy for the purposes of receiving 
the imperial crown and of restoring order in that much 
disturbed country; (4) the efforts made, at times with great 
success, to strengthen the royal power at home; (5) the 
Investiture Quarrel which formed the absorbing question of 
the time. It became a burning issue only under the last 



136 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

two kings of the dynasty, but before their reigns the social 
and religious conditions which Icjd to it were in existence. 

148. Meaning of Investiture.— ^Investiture designates the 
formal installation into an office or estate of a newly chosen 
official by emperor, king, or other suzerain. The lord, after 
receiving the vassal's homage, invested him with his land or 
office by presenting some symbol, such as a banner, branch, 
or sword. The sword and sceptre, after some time, became 
the ordinary emblems of investiture confen^ed by laymen. 
At the beginning of the eleventh century, the ring and 
crozier had-.become the general practise in ecclesiastical in- 
vestiture .J ^^.ccor ding to general Catholic principles, eccle- 
siastical investiture which confers a spiritual office — as, 
for example, a bishopric — ought to be conferred by a spiritual 
superior. In the Middle Ages, however, the Church owned 
immense estates, for the defense of which she had recourse 
to secular means. The bishops and abbots entrusted the 
working of their domains to laymen; these promised, in 
return, assistance with the sword in case of need. Some 
ecclesiastics, in this manner, became temporal princes and 
vSuzerains with vassals to fight for them, and w^ith all the 
rights and privileges of lay lords. While they were subject 
to spiritual authority, they were at the same time vassals 
of the emperor, king or some other lord from whom they 
received investiture. In other words, bishoprics and ec- 
clesiastical benefices had in many cases acquired a twofold 
character, spiritual and secular, and the latter predominating, 
it often happened that ecclesiastics, receiving the insignia of 
their temporal office from lay princes, were also appointed 
to their spiritual duties by those same princes in what was 
practically one ceremony. 

149. Consequences of Lay Investiture.— The conferring 
of ecclesiastical dignities by secular princes in the above 
described manner is called lay investiture. Many of the 
abuses of the period may be traced to its prevalence, although 
the civil rulers in many instances chose excellent men for 



Germany: popes and emperors 137 

ecclesiastical positions. The evils arose from the confusion 
which ensued between ecclesiastical affairs and temporal 
concerns. The main work in the life of a bishop, the duties 
of his episcopal office, soon receded into the dim background 
in the minds of man}^ and the wealth, possessions and honors 
received undue and exaggerated consideration. The lay 
authorities went so far as to invest the bishops with crozier 
and ring, the emblems of their spiritual power. They 
carried on an unholy traffic in ecclesiastical dignities, dis- 
posed of church offices in favor of the highest bidder, or 
recommended for advancement and secured the appointment 
of unworthy favorites. The sin of simony was one of the 
most prevalent of the period, but it was hardly more wide- 
spread than the other great contemporary evil, clerical 
marriage. Both sins were undoubtedly, to a considerable 
extent, the result of lay investiture. As a consequence, 
any efforts tending to their lasting suppression and a genuine 
reform of the Church had to aim at the elimination of lay 
investiture itself. 

150. The Monks of Cluny; Import of the Investiture 
Quarrel. — The work of church reform was undertaken with 
the greatest energy in the second half of the eleventh century ; 
but it was prepared long before that time by the monks of 
Cluny in eastern France and by their disciples in affiliated 
monasteries. Leading austere lives themselves, these saintly 
religious preached, by word and example, the need of a truly 
Christian spirit and irreproachable conduct, particularly 
among the clergy. They also strove to increase the moral 
authority and to strengthen the ecclesiastical power of the 
Popes so as to find in them support against worldly minded 
bishops. Through their influence a purer and more vigorous 
spiritual life began to animate the Church, and a more 
faithful observance of ecclesiastical law could be demanded 
and insisted on. 

The reform thus i)rei3arcd by them was put into effect 
largely under the influence of Hildebrand, who later became 



l$g THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Pope Gregory VII. Under his inspiration, prohibitions were 
issued by some Popes against simony, clerical marriage, and 
lay investiture. But it was during his own pontificate that 
the crisis in the conflict over investiture was reached. Al- 
though the contest was apparently about lay investiture, it 
had in reality a far wider significance and import. It was 
in fact a struggle for supremacy in Christendom between 
the papacy and the empire. In its final analysis, the real 
issue was whether the papal or the imperial power was to 
be supreme in the Christian world. 

151. The Two Leadmg Personages in the Investiture 
Contest; Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV. — 
Hildebrand, who later became Pope under the name of 
Gregory VII, was born in Italy of poor parents. He most 
probably was a monk at Cluny for a while or, at any rate, 
came under the influence of the Cluniac reform movement. 
At a later date he was created cardinal and entrusted with 
the management of the papal finances. In this position 
he was the most influential counsellor of the Popes and the 
soul of the party advocating ecclesiastical reform. When 
in 1073 he was elected to the papacy the Church was given 
in his person not only a far-seeing leader, but also an energetic 
pontiff, who has been greatly admired and much calum- 
niated and who was undoubtedly one of the most remarkable 
men of all time. He sought ardently the realization of the 
Kingdom of God on earth under the guidance of the papacy. 
If in some of his utterances he seems to claim authority over 
both spiritual and temporal affairs, it was not through 
ambition, as is frequently asserted, but because he held 
that the spiritual interests of men are of primary importance 
and must be safeguarded, if necessary, even at the cost of 
the independence of the secular power. In regard to lay 
mvestiture, he considered that its existence and practise 
endangered the very life of the Church and that the civil 
power ought to yield absolute submission. He lived in the 
finn conviction that on this point compromise was im- 




Gregory VII 



I 



GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 139 

possible. Under the then existing circumstances he met 
naturally with the fiercest resistance from the German king. 

His opponent, Henry IV, was only six years old at his 
father's death in 1056. The queen-mother (Agnes of Poitou) 
assumed the regency, but did not possess sufficient firmness 
to give either a strong government to the state or a thorough 
and consistent education to her son. The character of the 
youthful Henry was utterly spoiled first by the excessive 
severity, then by the too great leniency, of his teachers. 
His lack of self-restraint is only too noticeable in him after 
he assumed personal charge of the government in 1065. He 
soon encroached, in most arbitrary fashion, on the rights of 
the Church, and disregarded the interests of the princes. 
It is doubtful, indeed, whether, under the existing circum- 
stances, a conflict between Church and state could have been 
avoided, but it is certain that Henry's wilfulness and caprici- 
ous proceedings embittered it. 

152. The Beginning of the Investiture Quarrel. — In 1073 
Gregory VII was acclaimed by the Roman people and 
elected by the cardinals as successor to St. Peter. He 
immediately took up the work of religious reform. At a 
synod held in 1074 he renewed the prohibitions which, 
under his inspiration, his predecessors had issued against 
simony and clerical marriage. Ecclesiastics who have been 
guilty on one of these heads are forbidden the exercize of their 
spiritual functions. Should they disregard this prohibition, 
the people are enjoined not to attend the services conducted 
by them. In 1075, to the prohibitions of simony and clerical 
maiTiage was added that of lay investiture. Considerable 
opposition to all these measures developed immediately; 
King Henry IV in particular disregarded them entirely. 
He distributed the offices of the Church as he had done 
before and appointed a new Archbishop of Milan even 
before the see was vacant. Gregory was, in spite of these 
offenses, willing to treat with the disobedient king, but 
Henry was not disposed to make concessions or to change 



140 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

his conduct. The Pope dispatched special messengers to 
Germany theatening the king with excommunication and 
deposition unless he showed signs of repentance and heeded 
the pontifical decrees. Henry retorted by summoning two 
councils, one in Germany, the other in Italy, at which he 
pronounced the deposition of Gregory VII and made known 
the decision to the Pope in an insulting letter which dared to 
question the authority and even the integrity of Hildebrand. 

This step was a far-reaching one: a bitter and protracted 
struggle ensued between the papacy and the empire. Gregory 
answered the emperor's insolence with a decree of excom- 
munication and a declaration releasing all his subjects from 
their oath of fealty. The effect of this measure was so 
momentous that Henry had to fight for his crown during all 
the subsequent years of his reign. Gregory's design in 
taking action against the king was to bring him to terms 
rather than to effect his deposition. The German princes, 
however, were waiting for an opportunity to weaken the 
king's power and, in consequence, many forsook him, and a 
diet was called for the election of a successor. Its final 
decision was to allow Henry a year, during which the sen- 
tence of excommunication must be removed under penalty 
of the forfeiture of his crown. It was also agreed that the 
whole question between Pope, king, and princes should 
be settled at a diet to be held at Augsburg in the following 
year and at which the three parties should be present. 

153. The Meeting at Canossa. — Before the time for the 
appointed meeting came round, Henry, in the midst of 
winter, crossed the Alps with his wife Bertha and his son 
Conrad, suffering the greatest hardships and exposing himself 
to many dangers. When he appeared in North Italy, 
Gregory VII was already on his way to Germany. At the 
news of Henry's arrival, he interrupted his journey and took 
refuge in the impregnable castle of Canossa, the hereditary 
possession of the great protectress of the Holy See, the 
Countess Matilda. Henry reached the castle on January 



Germany: popes and emperors 141 

25, 1077, anxious for an interview with the Pope and for 
the removal of the sentence of excommunication. Upon 
Gregory's refusal to receive him, he stood for three days 
barefoot in the snow, and clad in penitential garb, before 
the gate of the castle imploring forgiveness. Finally yielding 
to the entreaties of Matilda and of other influential persons, 
Gregory admitted the guilty monarch to his presence and 
received him back into communion with the Church. 

Contemporaries saw, in this penance of the king, no degra- 
dation or abasement of the royal dignity. At a later date, 
however, Gregory's refusal to receive Henry was stigmatized, 
by those who refuse to acknowledge any right of the Church 
to interfere in temporal matters, as an act of wanton cruelty 
on the part of an inhuman despot. Both Gregory and 
Henry . have been criticized by modern writers for the part 
which they played at Canossa: Gregory because he refused 
audience; Henry because, in lowly and humble fashion, he 
petitioned for forgiveness. However a calm and unpre- 
judiced consideration of the whole occurrence leads us to the 
following conclusions. In the first place the three days' 
penance performed by Henry was not imposed by Gregory 
but self-inflicted. In the second place the king's appearance 
at Canossa placed Gregory in a very embarrassing position, 
for, according to previous agreement, the whole matter 
was to be settled publicly at a diet in GeiTnany, and not 
privately without the German princes in Italy. Again, 
even if Henry's conversion were sincei'e, a fact which had to 
be carefully ascertained owing to his previous refusals to 
consider himself bound by solemn obligations, the question 
still remained as to how the German princes would view a 
reconciliation and arrangement thus effected between Pope 
and king without consulting them. In regard to Henry's 
abject humiliation, as it is called, it must be observed that 
such penances and more severe ones were not infrequently 
performed in the Middle Ages by kings and nobles. It 
seems, moreover, evident that Henry's action, far from ex- 



142 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



cessiv( 



^ely diminishing the authority of the royal dignity and 
power, was, on the contrary, in its very intention, a clever 
diplomatic move to save his crown and to strengthen his 

authority. 

154. New Excommunication of the King; Deposition of the 
Pope; Appointment of an Antipope. — The diet which had 
been planned for the settlement of the difficulties between 
Pope, king, and princes never met. When the princes heard 
of Henry's departure for Italy, they met to discuss the new 
situation, pronounced the king's deposition, and elected in 
his stead his brother-in-law, Rudolph of Suabia (March 
15, 1077). 

Gregory was displeased with this undue haste to choose a 
new king. As it was too late to make the princes reconsider 
or go back on their election, he offered to arbitrate between 
the two parties. His mediation was indeed accepted; both 
sides, however, intended to rely for a solution not on his 
decision alone, but also on success in the war which was 
already in progress. Henry, successful in battle against 
his opponent, soon imperiously demanded his own recogni- 
tion, threatening, in case of refusal, not only Gregory's 
deposition, but the appointment of a new Pope. Incensed 
at such arrogance, Gregory, at the Lenten Synod held in 
Rome in 1080, bestowed the crown on Rudolph and excom- 
municated and deposed Henry. The latter shortly after 
took his revenge by proclaiming at a synod the deposition 
of the Pope. He went further and appointed an antipope in 
the person of Guibert, Archbishop of Ravenna, who styled 
himself Clement III. The death of his rival Rudolph in 
battle confirmed Henry in his resistance to the lawful Pope. 
He soon left with an expeditionary force for Rome to force 
Gregory to submission and to conquer the imperial crown. 
He had entertained the hope of quickly seizing Rome and 
of finishing the war in short fashion. But Rome closed its 
gates against him, and it was only in 1084 that he finally 
succeeded in making his entry. Even now Gregory VII, 



GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 143 

in spite of the entreaties of the Romans, refused to treat 
with him and maintained himself in the castle of §ant' Angelo. 
The imperial coronation was accordingly performed by the 
Antipope Clement III. 

155. The Normans in Rome; Gregory's Death at Salerno 
(May 25, 1085). — Gregory was on the point of falling into 
Henry's hands when a new nation, the Normans, who had 
established themselves in southern Italy, appeared on the 
scene in defense of the papacy. Gregory had entered into 
friendly relations with them; and their celebrated leader, 
Robert Guiscard, now advanced to his help with a powerful 
army. Without awaiting the arrival of the Norman duke, 
Henry abandoned Rome and retreated northward. Gregory 
was thus freed from the Germans, but he was no longer safe 
in Rome. Quarrels broke out between the Normans and 
the inhabitants, and the new invaders, though they had 
come in defense of the Pope, looted the city, burned it in 
part, and sold many of its citizens into slavery. The 
exasperation of the Roman population at this inhuman 
treatment soon turned itself against the Pope who had called 
such a cruel soldiery to his help. Owing to the hostile 
state of popular feeling, Gregory had to withdraw from Rome 
with the Norman troops and to abandon the city to the 
antipope (1084). He spent the remainder of his life in the 
monastery of Monte Cassino and in the city of Salerno. He 
died in the latter place on May 25, 1085, convinced that he 
had fought for nothing but right and justice in his conflict 
with the imperial power. His last words were : *T have loved 
justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile." He 
lies buried in the cathedral of Salerno. 

156. The Investiture Contest after Gregory's Death; Its 
Settlement in the Concordat of Worms (1122). — Gregory's 
death did not result in peace between the ecclesiastical and 
civil power. His successors renewed the prohibitions 
against, lay investiture and even made them more stringent 
by forbidding the clergy to render homage to a layman. 



144 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

On the other hand, King Henry remained just as determined 
in his opposition to ecclesiastical reform and to a change in 
the existing practises. Toward the end of his life his ob- 
stinacy furnished the occasion for the rebelHon of his son 
Henry and his own enforced abdication (1105). He suc- 
ceeded, however, even after he had resigned the crown, in 
gathering troops around his standard, and the armies of 
father and son were on the point of meeting in battle when 
Henry IV's sudden death put an end to the unnatural family 
eud(1106). 

As soon as Henry V (1106-1125) was securely in possession 
of the royal crown, he reversed his policy, until then favorable 
to the Holy See, and insisted no less than his father had done, 
on the right of investiture. With 30,000 knights, the greatest 
army an emperor had yet led across the Alps, he undertook 
a journey to Rome to receive the imperial crown and to 
negotiate with the Pope. As Paschal H, who was then 
reigning, was firmly determined to abolish lay investiture, 
there seemed to be little hope of composing the quarrel. 
A treaty was nevertheless concluded in which Henry promised 
to discontinue the practise of la}^ investiture, while the 
Pope agreed that the bishops should renounce all their 
fiefs and landed estates dependent on the crown. The 
treaty, however, could not be carried into effect owing to 
the bishops' refusal to make such renunciation. Its stipula- 
tions were, indeed, completely at variance with the spirit 
and conditions of the time, and were too radical to be carried 
out, at least in a permanent way. At all events, it became 
clearer as years went by that no such extreme solution was 
possible and that peace must be sought in a compromise. 
Of such a nature was the Concordat of Worms, which finally 
put an end to the struggle. The provisions were the follow- 
ing: (1) The emperor promised not to interfere with the free 
elections of bishops and abbots. (2) He renounced the 
practise of investing the bishop-elect with ring and stafif. 
(3) In return the Pope agreed that episcopal elections should 



GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 145 

be held in presence of the emperor or one of his deleK^ates. 
(4) He also granted the emperor the right to confer with the 
sceptre the fiefs or landed estates on the bishop-elect before 
his consecration. 

This Concordat was ratified in 1123 at the Council of the 
Lateran, the first general council ever held in the West. 

ni. The Suabian or Hohenstaufen Emperors 
(1138-1254). Renewed Struggle between 

THE Papacy and the Empire ^ ^ ^^r-a 

157. The New Dynasty and the Period during which it 
Reigned.— The Franconian emperors were followed after 
the short reign of Lothair III (1125-1137) by the Suahian 
or Hohenstaufen emperors. /This new dynasty occupied the 
throne from 1138-1254. Tl^e period was the most brilliant 
in the history of the empire, and the most flourishing in the 
history of medieval Germany. It w^as not, however, a time 
of peace and unhindered progress, for it was marked by 
three important conflicts : (1) Between Guelfs and Ghibellines, 
(2) between Papacy and Empire, (3) between Emperors and 
the Italian Cities or Communes) 

The feuds between Guelfs and Ghibellines had their origin 
in Germany, but soon extended to Italy. They arose from 
the opposition of the house of Welf, a name which in Latin 
countries was transformed into Guelf, to the Lords of Waih- 
lingen, which in Romance parlance received the easier form 
of Ghibelline. The House of Welf was in possession of the 
Duchy of Bavaria, whereas the House of Hohenstaufen 
ruled Suabia and owned the castle of Waiblingcn. As the 
House of Hohenstaufen occupied the imperial throne for 
considerably over a century, the name Ghibelline served to 
designate the supporters of the emperors, whereas that of 
Guelf was applied to their opponents. Owing to the conflict 
between papacy and empire, the supporters of the Popes 
were soon called Guelfs in Italy. 



146 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

While the renewed struggle between the two powers, the 
papal and the imperial, was in progress, new forces arose 
and acquired strength in Germany, in the free imperial cities; 
and in Italy, in the communes. The early development of 
the Italian communes, i. e., small self-governing republics, 
brought the Hohenstaufen emperors face to face with a 
new enemy. Through the growth of industry and commerce, 
the Italian cities had become prosperous and were in a posi- 
tion to claim considerable political freedom. The consequent 
attempt of the emperors to keep them in subjection forced 
them to make common cause with the Popes in defense of 
their liberties. 

158. Frederic I, Barbarossa (1152-1190).— The founder of 
the Hohenstaufen dynasty was Conrad III, who reigned 
from 1138 to 1152. He had unsuccessfully contested the 
royal dignity with his predecessor, but was elected and 
recognized after the latter's death. His reign was marked 
more by a desire to consolidate his power than by any 
striking events of general importance. It is, moreover, 
overshadowed by the brilliant rule of his successor, Frederic 
1. When at the point of death, Conrad, whose only son was 
but eight years old, placing national interests before family 
advantages, had his nephew Frederic of Suabia elected to 
the kingship. 

Frederic I (1152-1190), who because of his red beard was 
surnamed by the Italians Barbarossa, was thirty-one years 
old when he succeeded his uncle on the throne. He was 
intelligent, resolute, and ambitious, and was to be a dominant 
figure in the politics of Europe for thirty-eight years. He 
was the most perfect type of the medieval German emperor, a 
sovereign anxious to realize all the ideals and hopes which 
the men of that time associated with this high office. 
Brilliant knight and capable statesman though he was, he 
did not succeed in all his undertakings; but he ruled at a 
time when Germany was being born to a new life, when 
national poetry had its beginning, and when the cities became 



GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 147 

wealthy and prosperous. Frederic contributed to this 
prosperity by his vigor in enforcing order and by the mag- 
nificence of his court. 

In studying his reign it is important to distinguish the 
aims he pursued as king and those he sought to reaHze as 
emperor. As king he endeavored to estabHsh greater unity 
in the government, to hold in check the turbulent princes 
and to repress the violence of the petty nobles. His policy 
as emperor was, according to his own declaration, "to restore 
in its ancient vigor and excellence the grandeur of the 
Roman Empire." To attain this end he skilfully used that 
great instrimient of government, the old Roman Law. He 
surrounded himself with the law professors of the University 
of Bologna, who searched the Roman code for the maxims 
most favorable to his authority. They taught him that his 
will was law and that he was not only the sovereign but the 
owner of the world. Armed with these concise formulas of 
personal sovereignty and ownership, Frederic used them 
with the same skill as his sword. He did not direct his 
efforts, however, toward the realization of a definite, con- 
crete plan, but strove for the attainment of an intangible 
ideal of the past. As a result, he succeeded well as king, but 
failed in the main as emperor. He appeared in the latter 
capacity especially in Italy where, in spite of his determina- 
tion and obstinacy, he could triumph neither over the papacy 
nor over the Lombard cities. 

159. Frederic Barbarossa's First Expedition to Italy. — 
Frederic's most important conflict was with Italy, where he 
appeared on his first expedition in 1154. The country was 
at the time dominated in the north by the prosperous 
Lombard cities, was ruled in the centre by the papacy, and 
was subject in the south to the Normans. At Roncaglia 
the king held a diet at which the vassals of the empire and 
the consuls (mayors) of the cities appeared before him to do 
him homage, to submit their disputes for settlement, and to 
solicit the confirmation of their privileges. Some of the 



148 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Lombard cities offered resistance. They were mercilessly 
dealt with and reduced to submission, after which Frederic 
proceeded to Rome. He received the imperial crown at the 
hands of Pope Adrian IV on June 18. 1155, and returned at 
once to Germany. 

The principal result of this first expedition was to bring 
face to face again the two great rival powers, the papac\' 
and the empire, represented by two men fully conscious of 
their rights. At the very first interview Frederic had 
refused to hold the bridle and stirrup for the Pope when 
he mounted his horse. As this courtesy was usually per- 
formed by the emperors on such occasions, Adrian IV, 
offended at the omission, had declined to give him the kiss 
of peace. A whole day of negotiations was necessary to 
determine the two parties to yield. A lasting peace was 
evidently impossible between them ; l^ut a notable difference 
exists between this new quarrel and that of investiture. 
In the conflict regarding investiture the Pope defended the 
Church against the encroachments of the civil government. 
In this new contest he defends his temporal power. He 
fights for the independence of Rome and only indirectly for 
the independence of the Church. The ruler of the Patrimony 
of St. Peter opposes the emperor's domination over Italy. 
The very city of Rome is the object of a conflict: "St. Peter," 
the Pope declares, "is its sole master." "If it is not under 
my command" answers Frederic, "I am emperor only in 
name." The one recalls the fact that the papacy has trans- 
ferred the imperial dignity to the Germans; the other insists 
that the emperors have bestowed the Patrimony of St. 
Peter on the Popes. Both claim to hold authority inde- 
pendently, and in this they were undoubtedly right, though 
neither was willing to recognize the complete independence 
of the other. The difficulties arose particularly in regard 
to the sphere to which their respective powers extended, 
there being no clear distinction at the time between the 
sphere of temporal and that of spiritual concerns. 



OEUMAW: I'Dl'KS AND HMI'KKOHS 149 

160. New Expedition to Italy ; the Lombard League H 167; ; 
Battle of Legnano (1176;; Treaties of Venice fll77; and of 
Constance ni«3j.— In 1158 rlirficultics with some Lombard 
cities made a new expedition to Italy necessary. Milan, 
esf^ecially, had been conspicuous by its opposition to imperial 
rule and was dealt with severely on this occasion. AftcT a 
sie^^e lastinj^^ for two years and a half it was finally reduced 
by famine anrl shr^wn no mercy. The proud city was razed 
to the jsx^)un(], anrl its inhabitants were scattered among 
the i^easants of the nei^dibr^rin;^^ villaj^^es. The emperor 
witnessed the terrible scene of destruction without betraying 
the least sign of emotion or pity. He could now believe 
that he had conquered the resistance of North Italy. 

His relations with the papacy, however, were becoming 
vnoTi: anrl mr^re unfrienrlly. They were bad enough undcT 
Adrian IV, who, when he died, was contemplating the ex- 
crjmmunication of the proud monarch. They became worse 
after Adrian's death. A str^rmy election follrnved, in which the 
majority elected Alexander III, a defender of papal supremacy 
over princes, while the minority, favorable to imperial 
interests, elected Victor IV. Frederic recognized the candidate 
of the minrjrity, while all the rest of Christendom pronounced 
in favor of Alexander III. Through the emperor's intrigues, 
the latter was indeed forced to leave Rome and spent several 
years (1161-1165) in PVance. At his return, however, he 
pronounced the deposition of the emperor and released his 
subjects from their oath of allegiance. Frederic's answer 
was the levy of a new army for Italy. He soon stood before 
Rome, from which the Pope, abandoned by the inhabitants, 
was frjrced trj fly disguised as a pilgrim. The city sur- 
rendered and swore allegiance to the conqueror, who now 
stood at the height of his career. But a sudden and tragic 
event utterly destroyed his power. A terrible pestilence 
broke out in the victorirms army and claimed so many 
victims that the emperor, in the hope of saving the rest, 
retreated nrjrthward. Among the dead was his chancellor, 



150 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Rainald of Dassel, the personage mainly responsible for the 
imperial policy. The terrible visitation was universally 
looked upon as a judgiment of God, and the emperor's 
enemies took new courage and united their strength. The 
cities of northern Italy formed the Lombard League and also 
concluded an alliance with the Pope. They built, in defiance, 
a new fortress in Lombardy, which, in the reigning pontiff's 
honor, they called Alexandria. A new war became neces- 
sary. Frederic again invaded Italy and besieged Alexandria ; 
but he was unable to reduce it. While he was pleading with 
the German princes for reenforcements to enable him to 
continue the war, he was attacked at Legnano by the troops 
of the Lombard League (1176). His forces were routed 
and, for a while, it was believed that the emperor himself 
had been killed. He escaped with his life, but his army 
was wiped out and nothing remained for him but to treat 
with his enemies. 

He first entered into negotiations with the Pope and 
concluded with him the Peace of Venice (1177). He con- 
sented to abandon the antipope and to recognize Alexander 
HI as supreme pontiff and as independent ruler of the Papal 
States. The Pope, in return, freed him from excommunica- 
tion and solemnly received him back into communion with 
the Church. With the Lombards the emperor concluded 
a six-year truce, which was followed by the Peace of Con- 
stance (1 183) . In this treaty he acknowledged the autonomy 
of the communes and granted them important rights of 
self-government, while they promised fealty to him and 
obligated themselves to certain services during his presence 
in Italy. Thus the self-governing cities were recognized as 
a political power beside Church and nobility. Nevertheless, 
as the alliance between Pope and cities was not maintained, 
Frederic was practically stronger in defeat than in war. 

161. Frederic Barbarossa and Germany.— Although ap- 
parently absorbed by affairs in Italy, Frederic did not neglect 
the internal government of Germany. In Italy he met with 



B 20 C 15 D 10 £ 5 ^ , <^ .^ , ,°, ,^, /° ,^, ,^f , J, 




GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 151 

defeat; in Germany his rei^ni was successful and prosperous. 
His rout at Legnano was caused in part by the defection of 
his most powerful vassal, Henry the Lion. The latter, who 
was Duke of Bavaria and of Saxony, had on the eve of the 
battle refused to send the necessary reenforcements. On his 
return to Germany, the emperor repeatedly summoned him 
before a diet to answer the charges brought against him. 
As the rebellious duke ignored all imperial injunctions, he 
was condemned to exile, the loss of his fiefs and of his per- 
sonal estates (1180). Frederic granted Bavaria to the House 
of Wittelsbach, which reigned there until 1918, and gave 
vSaxony to Albert the Bear, who was already ruler of the 
March of Brandenburg. After a short resistance, Henry 
made his submission and asked for pardon. Some of his 
possessions were returned to him; but the duchies of Bavaria 
and Saxony were not restored and the sentence of banish- 
ment was maintained. The once powerful prince spent 
the remainder of his years in England. 

Frederic not only destroyed the most powerful of the 
German princess, but also sternly repressed disorder in the 
country. He waged relentless war against the feudal robber- 
knights, capturing and destroying their castles. He afforded 
protection to the peasants, defended the traveller in his 
peaceful journeyings, and generally maintained order and 
peace. Some of the diets held during the reign surpassed 
in brilliancy anything of the kind that had yet been witnessed. 
The fact that they were attended not only by numerous 
imperial princes but also by foreign ambassadors sufficiently 
illustrates the power and influence of the great monarch. 
His name was held in honor by the people, who, long after 
he had perished as a Crusader, still refused to believe in his 
death. 

162. Henry VI (1190-1197); the Hohenstaufen and 
Lower Italy. — Frederic Barbarossa had thought at an early 
date of adding Lower Italy to his dominions, but the checks 
which he met in the northern and central part of the penin- 



152 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

sula made the conquest of the south impossible. However, 
the resourceful monarch did not consider himself defeated 
in the pursuit of his aims; what could not be obtained by 
conquest might be secured through marriage. His son, 
who succeeded him as Henry VI, had married Constance, 
the heiress to the Noraian kingdom of Sicily. Henry, in 
spite of resistance to his authority, thus secured a legal 
title on which he based his claims. The possession of 
Lower Italy became, for a time, the question of paramount 
importance in European politics. Henry VI 's ambitious 
schemes, however, did not stop there. He sought to domi- 
nate the whole Christian world, and was the last emperor 
to attempt an effective control of all Christian nations. 
His plans included the conquest of the Eastern Empire, of 
northern Africa, and of Palestine. His army of Cru<;aders, 
which was to conquer the Holy Land, had already put to 
sea when the youthful emperor died at the age of thirty- two. 

163. Frederic II; His Character and Policy. — Not only 
had Henry VI made an attempt to establish a universal 
empire, he had also tried to transform Germany from an 
elective into a hereditary monarchy. His failure in the 
latter aim is evidenced by the fact that, at his death, a 
double election took place in which neither side chose Henry's 
three year old son Frederic for the kingship. The young 
prince was to come to the throne, however, after civil war 
had desolated Germany for several years. 

Frederic II, as he is known in history, was one of the most 
extraordinary personages of the Middle Ages. German on 
his father's side, Norman-French on his mother's side, he 
received an Italo-Greek education and was also influenced 
by Mohammedan environment and associations. His per- 
sonality made a deep impression on his contemporaries, 
because he radically differed from them in his sentiments, 
thoughts, actions, and life. He had a pronounced taste for 
the natural sciences, was indifferent and sceptical in religion, 
held intimate converse with Jewish and Arab physicians, 



GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 153 

and numbered among his soldiers Mohammedan troops, 
for whom he built a mosque. He was a monarch of re- 
markable statesmanship, a politician of unusual cunning, a 
man of scandalous morals and, although a ward of Innocent 
III, a Catholic of doubtful belief. 

His most striking characteristic was his self-conceit. He 
entertained an even more exaggerated idea of his exalted 
position than had his grandfather Barbarossa. In the 
empire, as planned by him, Italy, not Germany, was to be 
the leading state. In order freely to devote his time and 
strength to these southern dominions, he endeavored to 
establish and maintain peace in Germany. To this end 
he made concessions to the princes, both secular and ecclesi- 
astical. So considerable were the privileges which he 
granted them that the secular lords became independent 
sovereigns and the German Church was freed from the 
excessive influence of the civil power. 

In Italy Frederic II attached the greatest importance to 
the possession of Sicily. It was in this kingdom that he 
displayed the greatest activity as lawgiver and organizer. 
He transformed it from a feudal into a modern state, i. e., 
instead of maintaining the organization in which the ruler 
depended on the good will of his vassals, he introduced an 
administration centralized in his hands and carried on by 
royal officials. He was, as it were, a benevolent despot 
who appointed to all positions, and to whom all persons in 
the government service were responsible. State officials 
were no longer rewarded with fiefs or estates, but received 
for their services a fixed salary. 

164. Frederic II and the Papacy; Extinction of the Hohen- 
staufen Dynasty. — Their rivalry in Italy was bound to 
embroil papacy and empire in a new conflict. Frederic's 
first difficulty with the Holy See was caused by his delay in 
fulfilling the promise he had made to go on a crusade. As 
he postponed the expedition from year to year. Pope Gregory 
IX excommunicated him in 1227. Shortly afterwards. 



154 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Frederic, under the ban of the Church, went to the Holy 
Land, in spite of the Pope's expressed disapproval. On his 
return from the expedition a peace was indeed patched up 
between the two powers, but it was to be followed after 
several years by the bitterest conflict they had yet engaged in. 
The struggle began openly with the second excommunica- 
tion pronounced in 1239 against the emperor, who had 
repeatedly abused his power and infringed upon the rights 
of the Holy See. Characterized by extreme bitterness, this 
new conflict ended only with the extinction of the Hohen- 
staufen dynasty. While it was in progress no language 
seemed too strong to either side in its denunciation of the 
other. The Pope referred to the emperor as "the self- 
confessed heretic" and "the blasphemous beast of the 
Apocalypse;" while the latter saw in his opponent a slanderer, 
blasphemer, and insupportable tyrant. If the wordy ex- 
changes were violent, the blows were of the heaviest. Fred- 
eric invaded the Papal States, and, when the Pope tried to 
hold a general council to decide the questions at issue, its 
meeting was prevented by the capture of numerous prelates 
by imperial troops. Later, however, such an assembly 
actually met at Lyons (1245), and not only decreed Frederic's 
deposition, but also forbade anyone to obey him under 
penalty of excommunication. The emperor, however, re- 
fused to acknowledge the sentence. As repeated attempts 
of St. Louis IX to mediate between the two sides w^ere 
fruitless, the conflict had to be fought out to the bitter end. 
In order to raise new troops the papacy had a Crusade 
preached against the emperor, and the latter on his part 
strained every nerve to maintain his position. The two sides 
fought with varying fortunes until 1250. In that year 
Frederic had just completed all his preparations for a decisive 
battle when death interposed. Before he breathed his last 
he received absolution from the Archbishop of Palermo. 
The war continued under his son Conrad IV (1250-1254) 
and his grandson Conradin, who succeeded him. It was 



GERMANY: POPES AND EMPERORS 155 

finally decided when the Pope conferred the crown of vSicily 
on the French prince, Charles of Anjou, a brother of St. 
Louis. Charles in 1268 defeated and captured Conradin. 
This last representative of the Hohenstaufen family was 
soon after sent to the scafifold at Naples. But the transfer 
of the Sicilian crown to the House of Anjou did not fulfill the 
hopes and expectations of the papacy. Charles and his 
successors proved worse enemies of the Church than the 
Hohenstaufen had been. The residence of the Popes at 
Avignon and the Great Western Schism were in no small 
measure caused by these new masters established in the 
kingdom of Sicily. 

Bibliography 

Barry, W., The Papal Monarchy from 590 /o 1313. (Putnam, New York 

1907.) 
Duff, Miss N., Matilda of Tuscany. (Methuen, London, 1909.) 
Henderson, E. F., A Short History of Germany. (Macmillan, New York, 

1914.) 
Mathew, A. H,, The Life and Times of Hildebrand Pope Gregory VII. 

(Griffiths, London, 1910.) 
Medley, D. J., The Church and the Empire. (Rivingtons, London, 1910.) 
Schirp, F. M., A Short History of Germany. (Herder, St. Louis, 1915.) 
Tout, T. F., The Empire and the Papacy. (Rivingtons, London, 1903.) 

Historical Novels 

Ayscough, J., Saints and Places. (Benziger, New York, 1912.) 
Bolanden, C. von, Bertha. (Benziger, New York.) 



CHAPTER XIV 
FRANCE UNDER THE CAPETIAN DYNASTY FROM 987 TO 1270 

165. Hugh Capet (987-996) ; The Condition of France and 
the Kingship at his Accession. — Glancing back briefly at 
the history of Charlemagne's reign and the disruption of 
his immense, but unwieldy empire vshortly after his death, 
the student can see in the Treaty of Verdun the birth of the 
French nation in the apportionment of West Frankland to 
Charles. It will be remembered, too, that the rule of the 
Carolingians was of short duration. With the election of 
Hugh Capet in 987 the French crown passed permanently 
to the Capetian dynasty, which wore it until 1328. All the 
kings of the new line, particularly the two most important 
of this period, PhiHp II Augustus (1180-1223) and Louis 
IX (1226-1270), worked with energy and determination at 
the great task of unifying France. 

When Hugh Capet ascended the throne, the country was 
split up into numerous fiefs and the kingship was elective. 
The existing territorial divisions and the dependence of the 
succession on elections constituted two great obstacles to 
the free exercize of the royal power. The fiefs were not 
only numarous, but also extensive, and their holders enjoyed 
an hereditary title. The dukes or counts were nominally 
subject to the royal authority, but were independent in 
practise. No royal officials resided on or visited their 
estates as in Charlemagne's time. The execution of the 
royal decrees was entirely contingent on the vassal's good 
will. The king governed and managed his fief and could 
control nothing more. He was at this time the least wealthy 
and least powerful of the great lords of France, his estates 
comprising only the city of Paris and the neighboring country. 

Not only the lack of resources, but the elective character 
of the kingship also weakened Hugh Capet and his early 
successors. Their family was constantly threatened with 

156 



FRANCE FROM 987 TO 1270 157 

the loss of the royal dignity. In order to prevent such a 
contingency Hugh Capet caused, during his own lifetime, his 
son to be elected and anointed king. This example was 
imitated for two centuries by the Capetian kings: the elec- 
tion and coronation of the successor preceded the actual 
ruler's death. It was only in the time of Philip Augustus 
that this precautionary measure was abandoned, because 
the consolidation of the royal power had rendered it un- 
necessary. 

166. King Louis VII (1137-1180); Eleanor of Aquitaine; 
Beginning of the Rivalry between the Capetians and the 
Plantagenets. — Under Louis VII, the power of the French 
kings received an enormous, but only temporary increase. 
Louis had married one of the wealthiest heiresses of the 
kingdom, Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose estates included all 
southwestern France. He had thus become the greatest 
landowner of the kingdom. The queen, however, was less 
virtuous than she was wealthy. Her misconduct during the 
second crusade, on which she accompanied her husband, was 
notorious, and serious disagreements marred the relations 
between her and her husband. A reconciliation was effected 
between them by Pope Eugene III, who not only confirmed 
anew their union, but under pain of excommunication 
forbade its dissolution, on the ground of blood relationship 
or any cause whatever. The prohibition was little heeded, 
however, by the French bishops, who shortly after annulled 
the marriage in one of their councils (1152). Their action 
was never sanctioned by the highest ecclesiastical authority, 
but it had nevertheless important political results. Eleanor 
separated from Louis VII, took her immense estates with 
her and married forthwith one of her former husband's 
vassals, Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Anjou. As the latter 
was lord, in his own right, of all northwestern France, 
including Normandy, he became, by his union with Eleanor, 
master of the whole French seacoast from the mouth of the 
Seine to Spain and held territory about eight times the size 



158 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

of the royal French domain. This formidable power was 
further increased when two years later (1154) he became 
King of England under the name of Henry II. 

The existence of such a powerful vassal was a constant 
danger for the kings of France. The Capetians might, at 
any time, be overwhelmed by the Plantagenets. A long 
rivalry between the two families resulted from this situation 
and not unfrequently led to war. This contest for su- 
premacy in France lasted from 1154 to 1242 and ended in 
the triumph of the Capetian kings. 

167. Philip II Augustus (1180-1223).— Philip Augustus 
became king at the age of fifteen. The medieval chroniclers, 
who relate the important events of his reign, almost in- 
variably call him the Wise Philip. They thus emphasize 
the traits of his character which especially struck them: 
his diplomatic skill and political insight. Philip Augustus 
was, in truth, not a medieval knight who delighted in brilliant 
feats of arms, but a shrewd politician who waged war only 
when he found it profitable. He was looked upon by his 
contemporaries as a most peaceful ruler; but, in fact, waged 
war almost constantly against the Plantagenets. The 
great aim of his reign, an aim which he almost completely 
attained, was the destruction of their power in France and 
their relegation to the British Isles. In his struggles he 
unhesitatingly relied on the welcome support of the rebellious 
sons of King Henry II. 

Among these, Richard the Lion-Hearted became a powerful 
supporter of Philip Augustus. He took up his residence at 
the French court, where he was given a cordial welcome. 
The king honored him with his intimate friendship, the 
outward proofs of which, according to the fashion of the 
times, were that Philip and Richard ate from the same 
plate and slept in the same bed. In 1 189 they met Henry II 
in battle and defeated him. That same year Henry died 
and the crown fell to Richard. 

In 1190 the two kings, Philip Augustus and Richard the 



FRANCE FROM Q87 TO 1270 159 

Lion-Hearted, went on a Crusade. They both reached 
Palestine, but the former, under vain pretexts, soon aban- 
doned the expedition and returned home. Before his 
departure from the Holy Land, he solemnly promised to 
defend the English king's "men and lands with the same 
care as he would protect his own city of Paris." But he 
had hardly returned to his own dominions when his machina- 
tions to undermine Richard's authority forced the latter 
to abandon the crusade. When the English king was 
treacherously captured on his return journey, by his enemy 
the Duke of Austria and delivered to the Emperor Henry 
VI, Philip, on the one hand, intrigued to prolong his im- 
prisonment, and, on the other, promised to recognize his 
brother, John Lackland, as King of England in return for 
the cession of Normandy. These negotiations, tending to 
deprive Richard of his throne, were not yet concluded when 
the royal captive was suddenly released for a heavy ransom. 
John Lackland broke off his relations with Philip and a 
five-years' war followed between Richard and Philip. It 
had just been concluded when Richard the Lion-Hearted 
died (1199). 

He was succeeded by John Lackland. But Philip Augus- 
tus did not recognize the latter 's claims to the Plantagenet 
dominions in France and pronounced in favor of another 
candidate. As John refused to abide by this decision, he 
was summoned to answer for his conduct before the royal 
judges in Paris. He did not appear and was declared guilty 
of rebellion. A sentence of confiscation was pronounced in 
1202 against his French estates and was executed by Philip 
Augustus. The latter invaded Normandy, captured the 
principal cities and laid siege to Rouen. The inhabitants 
sent for help to King John, who had fled to England. Their 
envoys found him at a game of chess and stated the object 
of their mission. They were informed by the sovereign, 
who did not even interrupt the game, that nothing could 
be done for them. The city surrendered and Normandy was 



15ri THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

lost to the Plantagenets (1204). Shortly afterwards, a 
similar fate overtook their remaining French dominions 
with the exception of Aquitaine, and in 1208 John Lackland 
concluded peace with his successful opponent^/ 

168. Coalition against Philip Augustus ;'^e Battle of 
Bouvines (1214).— In 1214 John Lackland resumed the 
struggle against Philip Augustus; but, before throwing down 
the gauntlet, he secured powerful allies. French power had 
grown not only at John's expense, it was also a danger to 
the countries situated to the north of France, and seemed 
to constitute a menace for the empire itself. A coalition — 
the first European coalition — was now organized against 
the King of France. It included, besides England, the 
Count of Flanders, the lords of Belgium and Lorraine, and 
the Emperor Otto IV. The dominions of Philip Augustus 
were attacked on two sides — in the south and in the north. 
In the south John led his forces against the French and was 
signally defeated (1214). In the north the opposing a:mies 
met at Bouvines in Flanders. The action ended in a brilliant 
French success. The victory was hailed with enthusiasm 
in France and represents, as it were, the first French national 
triumph. It had several important consequences: in 
Germany it resulted in the downfall of Otto IV ; in England 
it helped to bring about the rebellion of the barons against 
the king; in France it insured peace until Philip Augustus' 
death in 1223. i 

169. The Crubade against the Albigenses and the Growth 
of the Royal Power in the South of France. — While the 
king was fighting at Bouvines, Simon of Montfort and his 
crusaders were unwittingly battling for him in the south. 
In the country of Toulouse, certain heretics, who from the 
city of Albi have been called Albigenses, had made their 
appearance in large numbers. Their teaching wa- based on 
a belief in two gods, creators of the universe, '^'he < . 
good, created the spirits; the other, evil, product ^ ^ 

As the Albigenses considered all matter essent 



I 



FRANCE FROM 987 TO 1270 161 

they were led to assert that man is a living contradiction; 
his soul is divine; his body, because material, is evil and a 
source of evil. The liberation of the soul from its captivity 
in the body is the end of our being. The sooner it occurs, 
the better for man. To hasten this deliverance is not only 
permissible, but commendable. Conformably to these 
principles, these heretics taught and practised suicide. 
Such errors were not only destructive of the faith of the 
Church, but they also undermined the very existence of the 
state. They had spread so widely in southern France in 
the twelfth century that over 1,000 cities or towns were 
infected by them. As persuasion failed to bring back the 
heretics to the fold. Pope Innocent III decided to use force. 
He called repeatedly on Philip Augustus, the suzerain of 
the heretical Count -of Toulouse, to undertake a Crusade 
against the Albigenses and their supporters. As the king 
remained deaf to these appeals, Simon of Montfort was put 
at the head of the Crusade and conquered the heretics. He 
was assisted after some time by troops sent by the King of 
France. The power of the Counts of Toulouse was de- 
stroyed. After Simon of Montfort's death, his successor 
felt too weak successfully to defend the conquered territory. 
He ceded the County of Toulouse to the House of France, 
in whose possession it permanently remained from 1224 
onward. 

The two great results of Philip Augustus' reign were thus 
achieved, viz., the conquest of a large part of the Plantagenet 
dominions and the acquisition of the important County of 
Toulouse. The royal power, formerly confined to the interior, 
had now access to the English Channel, the Atlantic, and 
the Mediterranean. 

170. Louis IX, The Saint, (1226-1270); His Character.— 
Philip Augustus' successors, Louis VIII (1223-1226) and 
Louis IX (1226-1270), continued his work of unification and 
consolidation. The former made additional conquests at 
the expense of the English kings. At his premature death, 
the crown passed to his eleven year old son Louis IX. 



162 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Blanche of Castile, the boy's mother, became regent and 
ruled with prudence and firmness for several years. As 
the foreign princes had leagued against Philip II to destroy 
the growing power of France, so the French lords now 
banded together to check the constantly increasing strength 
of the Capetian dynasty. The government, exercized by a 
woman, seeming to them hardly capable of successful 
resistance, they organized an internal coalition. In spite of 
their union and the apparently favorable circumstances, they 
were defeated by the skill and energy of Blanche of Castile. 

At the age of twenty, Louis IX, one of the purest glories of 
France and most attractive personalities of the Middle 
Ages, began his personal rule. He was tall, handsome, and 
well proportioned, of keen eye and dignified bearing. His 
features were so attractive that a chronicler could describe 
his face as angelic in comeliness. His ready wit, playful 
humor, and simple and unrestrained intercourse with high 
and low endeared him to all those who came in touch with 
him. Although he was not a great military leader, his 
bravery, calm and unsurpassed in perilous situations, forced 
the admiration even of his enemies. In his moral conduct 
he was ever mindful of the impressive words frequently 
addressed to him by his mother in his early years: "I would 
rather see you dead at my feet than guilty of a mortal sin." 

In his private life he was most careful in the recitation of 
prayers and in the observance of religious practises. His 
fasts and mortifications were beyond all ordinary measure, 
and his attendance at divine service, even at the midnight 
office, was most assiduous. His love for the poor and lowly 
was evidenced by his daily feeding of the hungry at his 
table and by his ministrations to repulsive cripples. In pub- 
lic affairs he was ever guided by the Christian principles of 
equity and justice. As a ruler he looked upon himself 
as the father of his people, the monarch whose sacred duty 
it was to defend the rights of every subject and to enforce 
the .observance of both ecclesiastical and civil law. He 
himself gave the example of strict justice in dealing with 



FRANCE FROM 087 TO 1270 163 

his fellow-men, furnishing us with the unique instance in 
history where a ruler, obeying the dictates of his conscience, 
restored territories previously conquered from an enemy. 
His merits were so generally recognized abroad that he was 
selected as arbiter between the English king and his barons, 
and between the Pope and the emperor. During his reign 
France occupied in Europe a position of preeminence due 
not only to the large territory effectively controlled by its 
ruler, but also to the king's well-merited reputation for sane 
judgment and unrivalled fairness. Twenty-seven years 
after his death he was admitted by the Catholic Church 
among her canonized Saints, and subsequent generations 
of all beliefs have honored in him the purest ideal of a true 
knight and Christian king. 

171. Louis IX^s Foreign Policy. — Louis IX's relations with 
foreign powers were shaped in accordance with the great 
aim which he ever kept in view, the organization of a Crusade. 
His constant endeavor was to bring about such conditions 
in Europe as would facilitate the undertaking of such an 
expedition. Diu-ing an illness which threatened to carry 
him off, he had promised to take the Cross if he recovered. 
He wished to see other Christian princes cooperate in the 
reconquest of the Holy Land. This lofty purpose and his 
natural desire to see justice and law prevail everywhere 
prompted him to seek to restore and maintain peace among 
his neighbors. 

Like his predecessors he worked with energy and success 
at the firm establishment of the royal power in southern 
France. But he obtained his end more through treaties 
and matrimonial alliances than military expeditions. In 
the war which he waged against Henry HI of England he 
emerged victorious and forced his opponent to conclude an 
armistice. Preferring to be a just monarch rather than an 
illustrious conqueror, he transformed some years later this 
agreement into a definitive peace, in which he restored freely 
to Henry, for the sole love of peace and justice, the provinces 
conquered by his father, Louis VHL 



164 ' THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

172. His Home Policy.— At home, vSt. Louis strove to 
give his subjects a good administration, to render strict 
justice, and to preserve internal peace. The expansion of 
the monarchy had rendered necessary the enlargement of 
the royal administrative system. In the organization of the 
state as perfected during his reign, the king remains the 
centre of affairs. He uses gradually more and more, as his 
assistants in the government, the numerous officials of the 
royal household. Some of these are placed at the head of 
the different provinces and others become itinerant judges, 
an institution of Charlemagne's time which again acquires 
importance. The Royal Council is divided into three differ- 
ent sections, viz., the Great Council, which is a political and 
administrative body; the Parliament, which is a court of 
justice; the Council of Accounts, which collects and manages 
the royal revenue. The officials, frequently identical, of 
the three sections still follow the king in his numerous 
wanderings, although the Parliament little by little settles 
down in the capital and becomes the famous Parliament of 
Paris. 

The king abolished private warfare in so far as this was 
possible. He defended the privileges of the barons, but 
protected no less the rights of their dependents, and insisted 
on the faithful performance of their respective duties by 
both classes. He issued severe laws against blasphemers, 
and, animated by a strong hatred of usury, he dealt most 
rigorously with the Jews and Lombards, the money lenders 
of those days. 

Bibliography 
Adams, G. B., The Growth of the French Nation. (Macmillan, New 

York, 1912.) 
Luchaire-Krehbiel, Social France at the Time of Philip A ugustiis. (Holt, 

New York, 1912.) 
Montgomery, D. H., The Leading Facts of French History. (Ginn, 

New York, 1903.) 
Perry, F., St. Louis, the Most Christian King. (Putnam New York 

1902). 



CHAPTER XV 
ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 

I. England from 800-1154; Anglo-Saxon, Dan- 
ish AND Norman Kings 

173. Egbert unites under his Rule the Seven Anglo- 
Saxon Kmgdoms (827).— The rulers of the Seven Kingdoms 
estabhshed by the Anglo-Saxons were independent of one 
another. At times, however, one among them succeeded in 
exercizing a preponderating influence, a sort of supreme 
control over the others. He was known as Bretwalda. 
The best known of the early kings who attained to such 
leadership was King Egbert of Wessex^t He had at first 
been driven from his country by internal wars and had 
sought refuge at the court of Charlemagne. In the year 800 
he returned from exile enriched by political experience and 
strengthened by an alliance with the great emperor. Wars 
in which he engaged with the other kingdoms ended to his 
advantage and placed him in 827 at the head of the Hep- 
tarchy. Not content with these successes, he attacked the 
inveterate enemy of the Saxons, the Britons of Cornwall, 
defeated them and subjugated their country. After a 
glorious reign he died in 836. About this very time, the 
Danes began their invasions, and the West Saxons, instead 
of continuing their conquests, were forced to organize for 
the defense of their own country. 

174. The Danish Invasions; King Alfred the Great (871- 
901). — The Northmen or Danes assailed not only the 
Prankish empire, they also extended their depredations to 
England and Ireland. In their attacks upon England, they 
were at times in alliance or friendly cooperation with the 
Britons; they are even said to have been invited to the 
island by the Celts of Cornwall. Their first incursions were 
mere raids. They would land in a district and ravage it, 

165 



166 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

carrying off everything they found suitable to their needs or 
pleasing to their fancy. Then reembarking, they would 
sail for home and pass the winter living on these supplies. 

This period of raids was followed by attempts to make 
permanent settlements. Ethel wulf (836-857), Egbert's son 
and successor, defeated them several times, but they con- 
stantly renewed their attacks. After his death, he was 
succeeded, in turn, by his four sons. The first three lost 
their lives in fighting the Danes. The fourth, Alfred, was 
destined to check their power. He came to the throne at 
the age of twenty-two and ruled for thirty years (871-901). 
Although he was not endowed with brilliant qualities, his 
practical sense, intelligent management of affairs, and 
success in the government of his kingdom, have justly 
earned for him the title of the Great. The Danes had 
established themselves permanently in England when he 
began to rule and were extending their conquests. He 
bought peace for Wessex by agreeing to pay a stun of money 
to the invaders. Left unmolested for a few years, he profited 
by this breathing spell to create a navy and to organize an 
army. When the war was resumed, he was prepared to 
meet the Danes in the field. Although his forces were 
numerically inferior, he succeeded in defeating the marauders 
and concluded the peace of Wedmore in 878. The treaty 
was not to Alfred's exclusive advantage; it was a com- 
promise rather than a one-sided arrangement, containing 
the best conditions the king could make at the time. The 
instrument divided England into two parts, one of which 
was to be ruled by Alfred, the other by the King of the 
Danes. The dividing line was marked by the famous Watling 
Street, which ran from London northwest to Chester. The 
territory sovithwest of this line was to be English; the rest 
was acknowledged as Danish possession. This latter portion 
became known as Danelaw or land of the Danes. 

The treaty of Wedmore brought peace to Wessex for fifteen 
years. A new war lasting for three years then followed. 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 167 

the Danes having renewed their attempts to make settle- 
ments in Alfred's kingdom. They were again worsted in 
battle, and the king could die quietly in 901 in the knowledge 
that the frontier of his kingdom was securely established. 

175. Alfred the Great and Anglo-Saxon Civilization.— 
The defense of his realm did not absorb all the energy of 
King Alfred, who, in many respects, reminds the student of 
Charlemagne. Letters and studies were, owing to his en- 
couragement and example, again held in honor during the 
reign. He learned to read late in life, but, once in possession 
of this knowledge, he was most assiduous in his studies and 
even became a writer of note. He established a school in 
his palace and attracted foreign scholars to his court. He 
desired that all freemen in his kingdom should learn to read 
English and wished all those destined to the clerical state to 
know Latin also. 

As an author, Alfred was not very original, but published 
important translations which he interspersed with his 
personal views and observations on various subjects. He 
rendered into English Boethius' Consolations of Philosophy; 
Orosius' Universal History; Bede's Ecclesiastical History^ 
and Gregory the Great's Pastoral Rule. A written collec- 
tion of the laws of the Angles and Saxons was prepared at 
his instance. He is rightly considered the founder of 
English prose and the originator of an important collection 
of national laws. 

176. England passes under Danish Rule; Canute the 
Great (1016-1035). — Under King Alfred's successors the 
conflict with the Danes continued ; the invaders were held in 
check until toward the 'end of the tenth century. During 
the long and unhappy reign of Ethelred the Unready (979- 
1016), the lack of sympathy between this king and his 
people afforded them more promising chances of success. 
Ethelred casting about, after several years of war, for new 
means of defense, decided to admit Danish troops into his 
service as mercenaries. He had hardly taken this step 



158 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

when, struck with sudden fear that these former enemies were 
plotting against him, he issued orders to his officers in the 
counties and towns where they were stationed to kill them 
all on a stated day. The date set for this massacre was 
November 13, 1002. The king's order was faithfully carried 
out, and the mercenaries were slain amidst revolting bar- 
barities. 

This cruel measure, instead of benefitting Ethelred's 
cause, only intensified the hatred between the two races 
and caused the war to be resumed with greater fierceness. 
The King of Denmark, Sweyn, whose sister had perished in 
the massacre, resolved to avenge her death. In 1003 he 
landed in England with a large force. The struggle which 
now commenced was to lead to the establishment of Danish 
power over all England. Ethelred, constantly harassed by 
the enemy and despairing of his cause, fled to France, but 
as Sweyn died shortly afterward, he returned, reascended 
the throne, and succeeded even in reconquering his kingdom. 
It was now the turn of Canute, Sweyii's son and successor, 
to take refuge in Denmark. There he collected a new force 
and reappeared in Eijgland as Ethelred was lying on his 
deathbed. After the latter's demise, his son Edmund and 
the invader Canute fought for the crown. The contest 
remaining undecided, they agreed to a division of the country. 
The treaty, however, was followed almost immediately by 
Edmund's death, and Canute became sole ruler of the entire 
kingdom (1016). - 

After committing a series of political m-urders to consolidate 
his power, Canute gave England one of the most beneficent 
reigns it ever enjoyed. He preserved the existing Anglo- 
Saxon institutions and relied in his administration on Saxon 
and Danish officials. He established security, maintained 
order, impartially enforced the laws, and protected the 
Church. He was no less successful in his external policy 
than popular in his internal administration. He renewed 
the alliance of England with Normandy by his marriage 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 169 

with Emma, the daughter of the Duke of Normandy and 
the widow of Ethelred. His brother's death (1018) made 
him King of Denmark, conquest added Norway to his dom- 
inions, Sweden is said to have acknowledged his supremacy, 
and Scotland was invaded and reduced to the condition of 
a vassal state. Canute thus established in northern Europe 
a vast empire which, however, was not destined to enjoy 
any permanency. At his death in 1035 it split up into 
various parts. His two sons quarrelled over his English 
possessions and, to reestablish peace, the kingdom was 
again divided between them. These two rulers followed 
Canute to the grave in rapid succession, and without having 
to contend with dynastic rival or popular opposition, the 
Anglo-Saxon Edward, son of Ethelred and Emma, became 
King of all England in 1042. 

177. Edward the Confessor (1042-1066); the Battle of 
Hastings (1066), William the Conqueror and the Beginning 
of the Norman Dynasty.— King Edward, surnamed the 
Confessor owing to his piety, did not possess the qualifica- 
tions of a firm ruler, and instead of wielding the authority 
himself, he left the government of his kingdom to Earl 
Godwin, a powerful nobleman, who, when he himself died, 
passed the reigns of government to his own son Harold. 
Edward not only did not exercize any personal rule, but had 
neither children nor relatives to succeed him. These facts 
explam why it is that before his death he should have, as it 
is declared, disposed of his kingdom in favor of two different 
men: William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, son and 
successor of Godwin. At any rate, whether Edward was 
guilty of sucH double dealing or not, the two claimants came 
forward at his death, William basing his right to the throne 
on the alleged fact that Edward had bestowed the succession 
upon him, on the occasion of a visit which he had made to 
England some time before the king's demise, and Harold 
chiefly on the fact of possession but also on the deathbed 
declaration of Edward. Harold was elected and crowned 



170 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



1 



immediately upon Edward's death. William of Normandy, 
however, strong and masterful as he was, did not renounce 
what he claimed to be his rights to the English crown. He I 
succeeded in winning the Pope over to his side by promising 
to enforce in England that authority of the Holy See which 
had recently been disregarded, notably by the deposition 
of the lawful Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope sent 
the duke a banner and blessed in advance the expedition 
which he was contemplating. William collected an army, 
fitted out a fleet, and put across the Channel. Hearing of 
the landing of the Normans while he was in the north re- 
pelling a Norwegian invasion, Harold hurried southward to 
meet the new enemy and ordered his army to take up a 
strong defensive position at Senlac or Hastings. It was here 
that in 1066 the battle was fought which decided in a few 
hours England's destiny and placed William of Normandy, 
subsequently honored with the title of the Conqueror, on 
the English throne. 

The Normans prepared for battle by fasting and prayer; 
the English spent the night in drinking and revelry. The 
following morning the Normans launched their attack agamst 
the hill on which their opponents were entrenched. At 
first their onslaughts could make no headway in face of the 
strong resistance they encountered. Their resourceful leader, 
seeing that progress was impossible by this method of 
attack, ordered part of his army to discharge its arrows, 
turn and feign flight. The stratagem succeeded. The 
English left their well-protected positions to pursue the flee- 
ing enemy. The Normans suddenly faced round, turned 
on them, threw them into confusion, and defeated them. 
Harold himself was struck in the eye by an arrow and fell 
lifeless to the ground. The English king and the English 
army were destroyed, and a single battle delivered up the 
whole kingdom into William's hands. He was chosen and 
crowned king on Christmas Day (1066). 

178. William the Conqueror's Rule in England.— William's 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 171 

aim was to be absolute master of the kingdom which he had 
conquered. All thought of resistance to his authority, 
however, was not given up by the inhabitants after his 
coronation. Several insurrections broke out, but the wily 
Norman always managed to keep his enemies separated 
and to defeat them in succession. So successful was he in 
the suppression of these conspiracies that even the King of 
Scotland, Malcolm II, who had made common cause with his 
enemies, was forced to recognize William's overlordship. 
Desirous of establishing his rule securely, the Conqueror 
did not treat the English as a whole as a conquered race, 
but was satisfied with confiscating the estates of Englishmen 
who had opposed him and conferring these lands on his 
supporters. Moreover, partly to win their friendship, he 
studied English and became fairly proficient in it, although 
it must also be admitted that the English language acquired 
at this time many French words and phrases owing to the 
restrictions which he imposed on its use. But neither did 
he allow the Norman barons to acquire power which might 
be dangerous to the kingship. No vast single estate was 
granted to any of them, but they received lands lying 
scattered in various parts of the country. A list of these 
possessions with their taxable value was drawn up with the 
minutest care in a register which is known as the Domesday 
Book, because it contained a detailed account similar to 
that which will be exacted at the last judgment. Realizing 
the precarious position of kings to whom only the highest 
feudatories swore allegiance, William exacted an oath of 
fidelity taken to him personally from all lords and vassals 
in his kingdom. He appointed Normans to the high positions 
in the Church, but insisted on rigid observance of Church 
laws and the strict performance of their duties by the clergy. 
179. The Norman Kings after William the Conqueror 
(1087-1154). — During William the Conqueror's reign, Eng- 
land, owing to its union with Normandy, was a strong 
continental power. The union was to come to an end with 



172 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the Conqueror's death, for he divided his possessions among 
his sons. The mode of succession to the EngHsh throne had 
not yet been definitely settled, and it was not William's 
eldest, but his second, son who secured the crown, as his 
father considered the latter better qualified to control a 
newly conquered kingdom. The succession, in this case, 
gave rise to no difficulty, but in some other instances serious 
dissensions broke out among Norman claimants to the 
throne. The successors of William the Conqueror ruled, 
as he had done, with a strong hand and were frequently 
despotic in their measures.^ Their absolute policy brought 
them into conflict, on the one hand, with the clergy and, 
on the other, with both the Norman and the English nobility. 
The relations between rulers and clergy are illustrated by 
the protracted struggle which St. Anselm, Archbishop of 
Canterbury (d. 1109), waged for the liberties of the Church 
against two kings of this line. The despotic dealings of 
the monarchs with their subjects united Normans and 
Englishmen in a common resistance to the royal power. 

In so far as the administrative system is concerned, the 
Curia Regis, or King's Council, was perfected in its organiza- 
tion in Norman times. This council was composed of the 
prominent members of nobility and clergy. It was originally 
a political institution. To its political attributions were 
added in the twelfth century the administrative functions 
of rendering justice and of managing the royal finances. 
When the council dealt with questions regarding the public 
revenue it assumed the special name of Exchequer, a term 
still in use to designate the Royal Treasury. 

II. England from 1154 to 1270 

180. Accession of Henry II (1154-1189); Thomas Becket 
Chancellor of the Kingdom.— Before his death, Stephen, the 
last Norman king, adopted as his son and heir Henry, the 

1 His Norman successors were: William II, Rufus (1087-1100); Henry I (1100-1135); 
Stephen (1135-1154). 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 173 

son of Matilda, a granddau^^^hter of William the Conqueror. 
When the succession was thus settled in his favor, Henry, 
sumamed Plantagenet, had already received from his parents 
large dominions in northern France and had come into 
possession, by his marriage with Eleanor, the divorced wife 
of Louis VII, of the magnificent dowry of the duchy of 
Aquitaine (1152). He thus controlled almost half of France 
when in 1154 he became King of England and was crowned 
as Henry II at Winchester. He was a youth of twenty-one, 
extremely active in body and mind, determined and anxious 
to assert the authority of the king and to enforce obedience 
to the law. So restless was his temperament that, even 
during his attendance at Mass, he busied himself either with 
drawing pictures or whispering to his neighbor. He quickly 
reduced to submission the rebels who resisted him and even 
regained some territory in the north from the King of 
Scotland. 

The most important appointment made by the new king 
was that of Thomas Becket to the chancellorship of the 
kingdom. Born at London of Norman parents, Thomas had 
entered the clerical state and the service of the Archbishop 
of Canterbury. A man of wholehearted devotion and 
extraordinary singleness of purpose, he served indeed several 
masters, but served them in succession: first his archbishop, 
then his king, and finally God. He had rendered excellent 
services to the first-mentioned when he was chosen chancellor 
by Henry II. In this high office he exhibited great love of 
worldliness and display, but was not tainted by corruption. 
The magnificence and splendor with which he surrounded 
himself were so remarkable that, at his appearance on an 
important mission at Paris, some of the inhabitants who saw 
him were heard to exclaim: "What manner of man must the 
King of England be, when his chancellor travels in such 
state!" As chancellor, he most loyally defended the king's 
rights and upheld his cause even against the Church, as 
when he justified the collection of scutage or tax from her 



174 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

hitherto untaxed estates. Henry looked upon him as an 
official after his own heaft and thought of placin^^ him at 
the head of the clergy, which he intended to bring under 
more strict state control. He offered to him the Arch- 
bishopric of Canterbury. Thomas, foreseeing that he could 
not accept such a position and retain the king's friendship, 
remarked: "An Archbishop of Canterbury must either 
offend God or the king." Henry, nevertheless, insisted on 
his acceptance of the new dignity, and Thomas, who had as 
yet received only deacon's orders, was raised to the priest- 
hood and consecrated archbishop (1162). 

181. Archbishop Thomas Becket and Henry II. — A 
complete transformation took place in the life of this chan- 
cellor become archbishop. The once worldly and powerful 
lord was suddenly changed into an austere and conscientious 
churchman. He cast aside all luxury and magnificence and 
exclusively devoted his time to prayer, study, and good 
works. He handed in his resignation as chancellor and 
thereby incurred the royal displeasure. The king's dis- 
content increased when, in 1163, the archbishop refused to 
sanction the levying of the Danegeld, a tax introduced during 
the Danish invasion, on the property of the clergy. It was 
the first time that such a contribution was refused and the 
last that an attempt was made at collecting it. The most 
serious collision between king and prelate came on a question 
respecting the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts. Henry 
II, contemplating a more complete control of all affairs, 
resolved on subjecting the clergy to civil tribunals. So 
far they had enjoyed the right of being tried by their own 
ecclesiastical courts, in which the proceedings were less 
cruel and the punishments less barbarous. Thomas Becket 
strenuously upheld this right and, in maintaining the privi- 
leges of his order, defended at the same time human dignity 
against Henry II's despotic instincts. When the latter 
demanded that a cleric, after being convicted by an ec- 
clesiastical tribunal, should appear before a civil court. 



ENGLAND FROM SOO TO 1270 175 

Thomas rightly contended that a man should not be 
punished twice for the same offense. The prelate main- 
tained his unyielding attitude in face of an appeal to the 
ancient customs of the realm. According to him ecclesias- 
tical law, in case of conflict between the two, ought to be 
obeyed in preference to civil law. 

182. The Constitutions of Clarendon (1164).— While the 
controversy was in progress the royal court assembled at 
Clarendon, a small village near Salisbury. There, heeding 
the expostulations of the other bishops and shaken by threats 
of death, Thomas yielded to the king and promised to respect 
the customs of the realm. These customs, so far indefinite 
and unwritten, were at once reduced to writing, and have 
since become known as the Constitutions of Clarendon. 
Among other things, they stated the following: Clerics 
accused of any offense were to appear before the ecclesias- 
tical court and royal tribunal; if they confessed or were 
convicted, the Church was to abandon them to the secular 
arm. Appeals in Church matters were to be taken first to 
the archdeacon, then to the bishop, finally to the arch- 
bishop. No recourse to higher authority such as the Pope 
was to be allowed. The archbishops and bishops were, 
like all the king's direct vassals, to obey the royal officials 
and to fulfill all the obligations of fief -holding. They might 
not leave the kingdom without obtaining royal permission 
and taking an oath that they would refrain from all injury 
to king and kingdom. 

While it may be questioned whether these constitutions 
reproduced the ancient customs of England, it is certain 
that they infringed on the existing rights of the Church and 
threatened its liberty for the future. Thomas Becket refused 
to accept them, left Clarendon, and went to Winchester, 
where, in penitential garb, he atoned for the fault of having 
momentarily yielded to pressure and to the king's demands. 

183. Flight, Return, and Martyrdom of Thomas Becket.— 
The king put forth every effort to force the recalcitrant pre- 



176 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

late to submission. The latter, perceiving that every 
available means was being used to ruin him, fled in disguise 
to France and appealed to the Pope. The reigning pontiff, 
Alexander III, was then engaged in his fierce quarrel with 
Frederic Barbarossa and could give but little support to 
the fugitive prelate. Thomas nevertheless remained stead- 
fast in his defense of the liberties of the English Church. 
Henry II, finding himself after a while involved in con- 
siderable difficulties and at war with France, proceeded to 
the continent and was outwardly reconciled to the arch- 
bishop. Thomas returned to England, where he was re- 
ceived in triumph. In the meantime his enemies were not 
idle. They depicted to Henry the distracted state of his 
kingdom, ascribing it to the intractable character of the 
Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry burst into a violent 
passion: "What a parcel of fools and cowards," he exclaimed, 
"have I nourished in my house that none of them can be 
found to avenge me on an upstart priest." Four knights, 
on hearing the king's words, at once left the royal court and 
went to Canterbury. They sought out the archbishop and 
asked him to leave the kingdom. Upon his refusal and 
after an exchange of angry words, they withdrew to arm 
themselves. When they returned the prelate had taken 
refuge in the cathedral. They invaded it, crying, "Where 
is the traitor!" "Behold me," replied Thomas, "no traitor, 
but a priest of God." The assailants rushed forward to 
lay hands upon him; he at first attempted resistance but, 
seeing the futility of it, knelt before his murderers, was 
struck down, and died a martyr's death on December 29, 1170. 
184. Results of the Murder. — A cry of horror went up 
throughout the world at the news that the Archbishop of 
Canterbury had been slain in his cathedral. The popular 
indignation in England was caused not only by the revolting 
character of the crime, but also by the view that the defender 
of right and protector of the poor had been struck down. 
As for Henry II himself, far from rejoicing at being rid of a 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 177 

troublesome opponent, he gave himself up to despair at the 
thought of the impending consequenees. The Pope de- 
elared his intention of excommunicating him and laying 
the kingdom under an interdict. It was only with difficulty 
that Henry's envoys succeeded in staying the execution of 
this plan. When, after considerable delay, the king felt 
confident enough to meet the papal legates, he swore that 
he had not desired the prelate's death, promised to contribute 
towards the defense of the Holy Land and to go on a Crusade, 
and revoked the Constitutions of Clarendon. He thus 
succeeded in mollifying the papacy, but the difficulties in 
which hfe became involved in consequence of the archbishop's 
assassination led to an insurrection of some of the barons 
against him. His wife Eleanor and eldest son Henry made 
common cause with his enemies, who were also joined by the 
Kings of France and Scotland. His position was critical, 
but he was at his best in time of danger. He proceeded in 
person to France and defeated his adversaries there. Im- 
mediately returning to England, he went as a penitent to 
Canterbury, knelt piously in prayer at the tomb of Thomas 
Becket, and submitted to a scourging at the hands of the 
monks. On that very day his ministers won the battle of 
Alnwick in which the Scottish army was wiped out and its 
king, WiUiam the Lion, captured (1174). The conspiracy, 
apparently so formidable at the beginning, thus ended, 
through Henry's energetic action, in miserable failure. 

185. Ireland before Henry II's reign. — An event of 
Henry I I's reign which was more important in its later con- 
sequences than in its contemporary significance was the 
partial conquest of Ireland which he accomplished. Ireland, 
after its conversion by St. Patrick, had gradually become one 
of the chief centres of medieval culture and Catholic civiliza- 
tion. Its monasteries flourished, its schools were held in 
high esteem, its saints were legion and its missionaries 
preached the Gospel and introduced reform in many districts 
of continental Europe. The island had remained free from 



178 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the Teutonic invasions and had prospered under conditions 
of security and peace which were not enjoyed elsewhere. 
The Teutonic invaders had advanced chiefly by land, and 
the sea had formed a secure natural protection for the 
Emerald Isle. Toward the end of the eighth century, new 
barbarians, the Northmen or Danes, advancing chiefly by 
sea, carried their devastation also to Ireland. Here, as 
everywhere else, they burned the monasteries, destroyed the 
churches, massacred the inhabitants and pillaged the country. 
They established themselves chiefly on the coast, but creep- 
ing up the rivers they effected permanent settlements as 
far inland as Waterford and Limerick. Despite this foreign 
danger, the Irish chiefs did not unite against the common 
enemy, and it was only when a man of strong energy and 
remarkable talent, Brian Boru, assumed the leadership and 
directed the resistance that the Danes were decisively de- 
feated at the battle of ClontarJ in 1014 and permanently 
driven from the island. 

186. Partial Conquest of Ireland by Henry II (1171).— 
The Danish invasions, far from furthering political develop- 
ment, had but increased disorder in Ireland. The tribal 
system and its accompanying evil, private warfare, con- 
tinued to prevail, and the country had made no progress 
toward national unity when Henry II came to the English 
throne in 1154. That very year, Adrian IV, the only 
English Pope, had ascended the throne of Peter. As civil 
discord had impeded seriously the progress of the Church 
the Popes had been considering for some time the organiza- 
tion of a stronger rule in Ireland. The English kings had 
established order and security in their own country and were, 
perhaps for that reason, looked upon as capable of performing 
the same service for Ireland. As, according to general 
belief, the suzerainty over all the western islands belonged 
to the Pope, Adrian IV in 1155 most probably, granted 
Ireland to Henry II, a grant which was subsequently con- 
firmed by Alexander III. The donation was undoubtedly 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 179 

inspired not by national sentiment, but by religious motives. 
Adrian granted Henry permission to invade Ireland, not as an 
Englishman favoring an English king, but as supreme pontiff 
desiring to promote religious interests. Henry H, owing to 
the opposition of his mother and to domestic difficulties, 
did not make use, during Adrian's lifetime, of the papal 
grant. Shortly after the murder of Thomas Becket, however, 
he led from selfish motives an expedition to Ireland. The 
opportune undertaking had the merit of placing a safer 
distance between a guilty king and a wrathful Pope and 
also of putting Henry in a position to claim that he had 
sought to atone for the crime by serving the cause of religion. 
Moreover, the expedition would weaken the growing power 
of the Anglo-Norman lords who had indeed invaded Ireland 
with Henry's permission but whose continued success seemed 
to threaten danger to himself. Henry landed at Waterford 
in 1171 and proceeded to Dublin, where he received the 
submission of most of the Irish chiefs. His visit did not 
benefit, but only harmed Ireland. Instead of establishing 
greater unity and security, it introduced a new source of 
division and opened for the island that sad period in its 
history during which the English would neither rule Ireland, 
nor permit the Irish to rule themselves. 

187. Henry II»s Last Years and Death (1189).— Henry's 
last years were filled with great sorrows and keen disappoint- 
ment. He had divided, during his lifetime, his French 
dominions among his sons, but had not provided for the 
youngest of them, John, who from this circumstance was 
surnamed Lackland. Family discord, be it remarked, was 
the characteristic evil from which the Angevin dynasty 
suffered throughout its history, and this scheme of Henry's 
far from abating the evil, rather tended to increase the 
domestic feuds, for the sons rebelled against their father 
and likewise quarrelled among themselves. One of Henry's 
sons was so fully conscious of the family trait that he wrote 
to his father the distressing words: "Dost thou not know 



180 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

that it is our proper nature, planted in us by inheritance 
from our ancestors, that none of us should love the other, 
but that ever brother should strive with brother, and son 
against father?" Nevertheless, Henry II greatly loved his 
children and deeply felt their quarrel with him and their loss 
by death. In 1183 his eldest son Henry rose in rebellion, 
but died that same year; three years later another son was 
removed by a sudden death. 

To these personal' sorrows was soon added the tragic 
news of the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187. The 
event caused general consternation in the west and Henry 
II and his son Richard swore to take the Cross. The king, 
however, owing to a war which Philip Augustus of France 
and Richard began against him, was unable to fulfill his 
pledge. Worn out by illness and aggrieved at Richard's 
conduct, Henry concluded peace by accepting all the con- 
ditions of his opponents, asking only for a list of his own 
vassals who had fought against him. The first name men- 
tioned was that of his favorite son John. On hearing it, the 
unfortunate king turned his face to the w^all, crying: "Let 
things go now as they will ; I care no more for myself or for 
the world." He did not long survive the shock, but expired 
a few days later after a worthy confession and a devout 
reception of the last sacraments (1189). 

188. Richard the Lion-Hearted (1189-1199).— Richard 
succeeded to all his father's dominions. Although born in 
England, he was educated in France and was little acquainted 
with affairs in the island kingdom. He appeared in it only 
twice, remaining in both instances for a short time: several 
months after his coronation at Westminster in 1190, and 
several weeks after his return from captivity in Germany. 
He was a brilliant soldier, but lacked the qualities of a states- 
man. His extraordinary muscular strength was matched 
by most daring bravery, but prudence and foresight were 
conspicuous by their absence. Very fond of adventure and 
war, he spent his life accordingly. From 1190 to 1192 he 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 181 

was on a Crusade and from 1194 to 1199 waged war with 
France. Such expeditions could be carried on only at great 
expense, and Richard's incessant demands for money kept 
the absent king before the mind of his people. Although in 
war he was more than a match for Philip Augustus, he could 
effect but little, as death interposed. When he felt that his 
end was at hand, he had his brother John recognized as his 
successor. 

189. John Lackland (1199-1216); His Character.— "Foul 
as it is, hell itself is defiled by the fouler presence of John," 
are the terrible words in which a contemporary has expressed 
his opinion of Henry II's youngest son. A more severe 
verdict could not be pronounced against a man, but neither 
would it be easy to exaggerate John Lackland 's wickedness. 
He was inhumanly cruel and despotic, shamelessly immoral 
and faithless to the most solemn obligations. He possessed, 
however, the political ability of the Angevin kings, was 
determined and even obstinate in the pursuit of an aim, and 
exhibited great shrewdness in extricating himself from an 
ostensibly desperate situation. The history of his reign 
is a record of three great conflicts : one with France in which 
John lost all his French possessions north of the Loire; a 
second with the Church which resulted in his becoming the 
Pope's vassal; and a third with the barons who forced him 
to sign the Great Charter. 

190. John's Quarrel with Philip II of France. — This topic 
has been treated under that ruler's reign. (See Nos. 167 
and 168.) 

191. John's Quarrel with the Church. — In 1205 the see of 
Canterbury became vacant. The monks of the local 
monastery of Christ church enjoyed the right to elect a new 
archbishop, the Crown also claimed a voice in the appoint- 
ment, while the bishops of the province held that they too 
should be heard. The vacancy had no sooner occun-ed than 
the younger and lesser element among the monks chose a 
new incumbent and dispatched him to Rome to solicit papal 



182 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

confirmation. The king and provincial bishops appealed 
to the Holy See against this proceeding. The king went 
further and nominated and installed another candidate in 
office. Pope Innocent III, after long and careful considera- 
tion, reaffirmed the monks' right of election. He refused, 
however, to confirm either their or the king's candidate, con- 
tending that, in one case, the election had been irregular and, 
in the other, the nomination made while the appeal was 
pending. At the Pope's instance, Stephen Langton, a man 
no less remarkable for his learning than his holiness, was 
elected by the representatives of the monks who, invested 
with full powers, were then present at Rome. King John 
refused to recognize Stephen and confiscated the property 
of the archbishopric. The Pope laid England under an 
interdict, i. e., forbade the holding of public church services 
in the country. John scoffed at this measure and decreed 
severe penalties against clergymen conforming to it. During 
five years the conflict waxed fiercer and fiercer. In 1213 
Innocent pronounced John's deposition and called on Philip 
Augustus to take possession of his kingdom. The French 
king was collecting an army for an invasion of England 
when John, realizing the gravity of the situation, made 
his peace with Rome. He resigned his crown into the 
Pope's hands, and received it back as a vassal; he promised 
also to pay a yearly tribute of 1,000 marks to the Holy See, 
to recognize Stephen Langton as archbishop, and to make 
reparation for the damages he had caused to the Church. 
On these conditions he and his kingdom were restored to 
communion with Rome. 

192. John's Quarrels with the Barons. — John's unbearable 
tjTanny had already aroused strong opposition when in 
1213 he formed the plan of reconquering his lost French 
dominions. He called upon the nobility to follow him to 
France, but the summons was disregarded by the barons of 
the north, who held that their feudal obligations did not 
include service abroad. They likewise refused to pay scutage 
for the exemption from this obligation. Not only was the 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 183 

king powerless to enforce compliance with his order, but the 
barons, under the leadership of Stephen Langton, demanded 
of him new guarantees that he would observe the laws of his 
predecessors and respect the privileges of their order. Unless 
he granted them a new charter confirming their rights, they 
would renounce his allegiance. John sought to gain time 
and hurried military preparations for a war against them. 
The barons' forces, however, called the "Army of God and 
Holy Church," promptly marched on London and entered it 
amidst the rejoicing of the inhabitants. The few supporters 
who had held out with the king now deserted him, and in 
his defenseless position, he was forced to treat with the barons. 
He agreed to meet them at Runn^Tnede, an island in the 
Thames, and there on June 15, 1215, he accepted their 
demands and signed Magna Carta or the Great Charter of 
English liberties. 

193. Contents of the Great Charter. — Among the numerous 
clauses of the Great Charter, some deserve special attention, 
as they had a far-reaching effect on English public life. 
The instrument guaranteed the rights and privileges of the 
Church and the freedom of episcopal elections. It protected 
individual liberty by declaring that no freeman was to be 
imprisoned, exiled or deprived of his property except by the 
judgment of his equals and in accordance with the law of the 
land. Common pleas, i. e., private suits, were to be heard 
at a fixed place instead of being brought before courts travel- 
ling about with the king. Regular sessions of the court were 
to be held in the counties four times a year. In the imposition 
of a fine both the character of the offense and the property 
of the offender must be taken into consideration. 

As to feudal obligations, the tenants-in-chief, upon entering 
on their estates, were to be required to pay no more than afixed 
contribution. The king was to be guardian to the minor heirs 
of his vassals, was to treat them fairly, marry them suitably 
and manage their property carefully. Only in three specified 
cases might he independently levy aids or taxes from his ten- 
ants, namely, for ransoming his royal person, knighting his 



134 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

eldest son, or marrying his eldest daughter. In all other cir. 
cumstances he might impose taxes only with the consent of 
the Common Council of the realm. The Charter also 
protected commerce in maintaining the trade privileges 
granted the towns and introducing unity of weights and 
measures in the kingdom. As security that the provisions 
would be faithfully observed by the king, a commission of 
twenty-five members elected by the barons — a sort of 
vigilance committee — was to be instituted with the eventual 
right to remonstrate with the king and to resort to force. 

With the Great Charter a new period opens in the internal 
history of England. This important document formed the 
basis of English civil and political liberty. It had, over 
previous royal pledges, the advantage of containing a definite 
statement of rights and of making concessions to all classes, 
since the barons promised to extend to the lower orders the 
grants made to them. The struggle for its maintenance and 
for the limitation of the royal power was to continue through- 
out the century. Despite the later condemnation of the 
Charter by the Pope, who was probably misled by statements 
of John, and who as a matter of fact did not so much con- 
demn the grant of rights as the manner in which the barons 
had exacted the grant, we may clearly see that the influence 
of the Church in the person of Stephen Langton and the 
later legates worked for the rights of the oppressed. 

194. John's Last Years. — John's first care, after the sign- 
ing of Magna Carta, was to work for its suppression. He 
represented to the Pope that the barons, in extorting the 
concessions, had infringed on the pontiff's rights of overlord. 
Innocent III took the same view. He released the king 
from the pledges which he had given, condemned the barons, 
and suspended Stephen Langton from the exercize of his 
spiritual functions. At the same time John, profiting by 
the dissensions which had already set in among the barons, 
took up arms against them. He was so successful in this 
new conflict that his adversaries, in distress, appealed to the 
king of France for help and offered the crown to his eldest 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 185 

son Louis, the later Louis VIIL The prince landed in 
England, proceeded to London and received the homage of 
his subjects. John's situation was again critical, but he 
was taken ill and died, after a few days, worn out by excesses, 
fatigue, and fever (October, 1216). His death saved the 
Angevin dynasty. The barons, whom hatred had united 
under Louis' standard, deserted the foreigner and recognized 
John's youthful son as King Henry IH. 

195. Henry III (1216-1272); His Character and Reign.— 
Under John Lackland the struggle against royal despotism 
resulted in the concession of the Great Charter, under Henry 
III the fight against the king's favorites and unworthy minis- 
ters led to the framing of the Provisions of Oxford and the 
creation of the House of Commons. 

Henry was only nine years old at his accession, but things 
went rather well as long as he could exercize no control over 
the government. In 1227 he was declared of age and began 
to rule personally. He undoubtedly had some good qualities 
and was the first English king to accord marked protection 
to art. But, unlike the other Angevin rulers, he lacked 
political talent, and his reign is notable for the influence of 
favorites and foreigners, chiefly the French relations of his 
wife and mother. Such a government was bound to arouse 
considerable opposition. The discontent was intensified 
by the king's constant demands for money; he needed it for 
his favorites, for his brother who was elected to the imperial 
dignity, for his son who aspired to the crown of Sicily, and 
finally for the Pope whom he generously supported in the 
conflict with Frederic II. As it belonged to the Common 
Council of the realm to vote money grants, its meetings 
became more and more frequent. Owing to the king's 
constant needs, this assembly, which from 1239 onward is 
spoken of as the Parliament, adopted the practise of in- 
sisting on a redress of wrongs before a new vote of subsidies. 

196. The Provisions of Oxford (1258).— The opposition 
to the king became more pronounced in 1257. A successive 
failure of crops threatened England with famine, the king's 



Ig5 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

extravagant plans of political aggrandizement produced no 
results, and the barons had found a leader in Simon of Mont- 
fort, Earl of Leicester. This nobleman was the third son 
of the conqueror of the Albigenses and sincerely favored 
reform in Church and state. When the king called a Parlia- 
ment in 1258, the meeting, held at Oxford, was largely 
attended by members of both the higher and lesser nobility, 
all of whom significantly appeared in arms. A Hst of 
demands which have been called the Provisions of Oxford 
was drawn up by this "Mad Parhament," as the king's 
supporters styled it. The acceptance of the Provisions was 
tantamount to a substitution of the power of the barons for 
that of the king. *A permanent royal council of fifteen 
members chosen by the Parliament was to be created and 
to meet three times a year. It was to have a voice in the 
appointment to higher offices and to enforce the observance 
of the Charter. Henry, unable to resist, accepted the de- 
mands of the barons, and again took his oft-repeated oath 
to the Charter. 

197. The Barons' War; Battles of Lewes (1264) and of 
Evesham (1265); End of Henry IIPs Reign.— Henry, 
like his father, found it easier to make than to keep promises. 
He did not observe the Provisions to which he had reluctantly 
submitted at Oxford, and ruled as if no restrictions had 
been imposed on him. The barons, seeing that his pledges 
were empty words, took up arms against him in 1263. The 
war was waged with doubtful results for some time, and then 
the contending parties agreed to submit the quarrel for 
decision to St. Louis, King of France. His verdict was 
entirely favorable to the king and annulled the Provisions 
of Oxford. The barons refused to abide by the settlement 
and continued the war. Simon of Montfort remained in 
command of their forces. His military efforts were re- 
warded by a most important success in 1264 at Lewes in 
Kent, where he captured the king, the king's brother, and 
part of the royal army. The conqueror reorganized the 
government by taking all power from the monarch and 



ENGLAND FROM 800 TO 1270 187 

placing it in the hands of three men, the principal of whom 
was Montfort himself. 

An extraordinary Parliament was convened to sanction 
the changes introduced. The assembly was not to be com- 
posed only of the barons and members of the higher nobility, 
but two knights chosen in each county and representatives 
elected by the cities and boroughs were also to be admitted. 
For the first time in English history, representatives of the 
common people, "the Commons," were called to sit with 
the nobility in Parliament (1265). The Earl of Leicester 
has, on this account, sometimes been called the creator of 
the House of Commons. The Parliament approved the 
reorganization of the government, and the king again swore 
to conform to it. 

Simon of Montfort 's triumph was, however, more apparent 
than real. Some of the barons only reluctantly accepted the 
new government and the king still had powerful partisans. 
These two factions, hostile to Montfort, joined forces and 
attacked him at Evesham in western England (1265). He 
put up a gallant defense against a superior enemy, but was 
killed with his eldest son and last partisans. The royal 
power was restored to its position previous to the acceptance 
of the Oxford Provisions. Henry III from now on gave a 
more just and orderly administration to the country and 
established internal peace on such a firm basis that, at his 
death in 1272, no disturbance occurred in spite of his suc- 
cessor's absence on a Crusade. 

Bibliography 
Freeman, E. A., William the Conqueror. (Macmillan, New York, 

1907.) 
Gardiner, S. R., A Student's History of England. (Longmans, New 

York, 1910.) 
Green, Mrs. J. R., Henry II. (Macmillan, New York.) 
Lees, Miss B. A., Alfred the Great. (Putnam, New York, 1915.) 
Mann, H. K., Nicholas Breakspear {Hadrian IV). (Herder, St. 

Louis, 1914.) 
Norgate, Miss Kate, John Lackland. (Macmillan, New York, 1902.) 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE FEUDAL LORD; CHIVALRY; THE CRUSADES 

I. Feudalism 1; Chivalry; The Peace and Truce 

OF God 

198. The Feudal Lord; His Training and Occupation. — 

Feudalism was a social organization originating in land 
tenure,,resting on force and suited to crude and barbarous 
times. The feudal lord originally acknowledged the sove- 
reignty of the king, but soon ignored the latter's power, and 
acted as an independent sovereign. He ruled supreme on 
his own estates, used his own standard or flag, and resided, 
so to speak, in his own capital, the castle. 

His education fitted him chiefly for a warrior's life. As a 
child he remained under the care of his mother until about 
the age of seven. He was then sent to the castle of another 
nobleman where, as a page, he spent about seven more 
years. Diu-ing this period he received his first training in tha 
use of arms and horses. Usually he did not accompany the 
lord to the field of battle, but remained in the service and 
under the guidance of the ladies at home. Once his appren- 
ticeship as a page was completed, he became a squire, 
perfected himself in the military art, and continued to study 
and practise the rules and customs of polite intercourse. 
His constant duty was personal service to his lord, whose 
arms he bore, whose horse he tended, and at whose side he 
fought. At the age of twenty-one his education came to an 
end with the ceremony in which he was dubbed a knight. 

The knight's principal occupations were war, tournaments, 
hunting, and festivals. War was the favorite occupation of 
these strong, violent, and frequently lawless men. It was 

> See also on Feudalism, Chap. IX. 

188 



feudalism; chivalry; crusades 189 

waged against neighbors on almost any pretext or without 
any pretext whatever. It consisted in raids, surprise 
attacks, destruction of crops, and seizure of cattle. The 
tournament was a sort of mimic warfare. A kind of mock 
battle between a few or hundreds and even thousands of 
knights, it served at once as an amusement and as a prepara- 
tion for war. Hunting was not only a pastime, but a neces- 
sity. The lord indulged in it to obtain provisions for himself 
and his men. As agiiculture did not yield rich harvests and 
domestic animals were few, wild game supplied to a large 
extent the wants of the lord's table. The festivals were 
frequent, lasted for days, and were most expensive affairs. 
The invited guests, usually very nimierous, were not only 
lavishly entertained, but generally received also m.o^t costly 
gifts. 

Feasting on such a scale not unfrequently brought a noble- 
man to the verge of ruin. To recoup his fortune he levied 
new taxes on an already overburdened peasantry or resorted 
to pillage. He despoiled travellers and robbed merchants 
who passed near his castle, stole the cattle and articles of 
value from his neighbor's estate, and sometimes even seized 
his neighbor's tenants and held them for ransom. Fre- 
quently little difference existed between a noble lord and a 
highway robber. 

199. Chivalry. — Anxious to mitigate the above-described 
evils and to soften the natural savagery of such men, the 
Church had recourse to a threefold means: she introduced 
milder methods of warfare by the institution of chivalry; 
she restricted war to certain places and times by the establish- 
ment of the peace and truce of God; she directed the warlike 
ardor of these incorrigible fighters against the common 
enemy, the Turk, by summoning them to the Crusades. 

Chivalry designated originally the noblemen who fought 
on horseback (from the French chcval, horse) . At the present 
time it is generally applied to the whole institution of knight- 
hood with its ideals of unquestioning loyalty and unselfish 



190 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

devotion. The institution owed its high and ennobling 
character particularly to the Catholic Church. Under her 
influence the profession of knight received a sacred and 
religious character. The ceremonies admitting a nobleman 
to knighthood bore a most solemn and impressive character. 
The candidate prepared for the honor, in an austere fashion, 
which recalls the life of the monk rather than that of the 
warrior. He observed a fast of twenty-four hours, spent a 
whole night in prayer in the church, made a worthy con- 
fession, and received communion. At Mass he listened to a 
sermon on the duties of his new state of life. His sword and 
armor were placed on the altar and received a special blessing. 
Before he was invested with them he took the customary oath 
in which he promised to fear, revere, and serve God reli- 
giously, to be ever faithful to his pledged word and to protect 
the weak, widows, orphans, and maidens. He was then 
struck lightly on the shoulder with the flat of the sword by 
the officiating lord, who at the same time pronounced some 
such formula as "In the name of God, of St. Michael, and of 
St. George I make thee a knight." 

Chivalry effected gradually a great improvement in social 
conditions and raised the moral standard of the time. It 
rendered manners and customs less barbarous, greatly 
developed the sentiment of honor, inspired respect for 
women, compassion for the suffering, and tenderness for 
the weak. How highly esteemed was the institution of 
chivalry may be gathered from the fact that it has been 
called the "flower of feudalism." Unfortunately, the high 
sentiments which inspired the knight in his relations with 
persons of the nobility seemed to be non-existent when he 
dealt with tenants, peasants, and serfs. They continued 
to be considered as inferior beings, on whom he frequently 
inflicted most barbarous punishment. 

200. The Peace and Truce of God.— The Church, not 
content with mitigating the sufferings of war, sought to 
restrict private warfare itself. To this effect the Peace and 



feudalism; chivalry; crusades 191 

Truce of God were instituted. The aim of both was iden- 
tical, viz., to enforce respect for the pubHc peace; but their 
origin, character, and demands differed. Their difference in 
character and aim has been very well expressed by a modern 
writer who says: "The Peace of God was intended to protect 
certain classes at all times, the Truce to protect all classes 
at certain times." The Peace of God protected particularly 
non-combatants, sacred places, and private property. It 
forbade the destruction or devastation of churches and 
monasteries, condemned theft and robbery committed by 
belligerents, and forbade all attacks on clerics, peasants, 
the poor, pilgrims. Crusaders, and even merchants on a 
journey. 

The Truce of God prohibited war operations on certain 
days and during some seasons which seemed to recall in a 
more special manner, events or mysteries of the life of the 
Savior. All warfare was to cease from Wednesday evening 
until Monday morning, from the beginning of Advent to 
the Octave Day of the feast of the Epiphany, from the 
beginning of Lent to Low Sunday. These were the more 
general periods during which fighting had to be suspended. 
But the times differed frequently, according to localities. 
In all places, however, where the Peace and Truce of God 
were observed, general social conditions were bettered, life 
was rendered more tolerable, and property more secure. 
The most beneficent results followed, and the spirit of Chris- 
tianity penetrated more and more all classes of society. It 
was impossible, however, to suppress war altogether, since 
the feudal lords would not surrender their cherished privilege 
of waging private war. Under these circumstances the 
Crusades, spoken of in the next section, afforded an excellent 
outlet to their combative ardor and irrepressible fighting 
spirit. 



192 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

II. The Crusades (1095-1270); Their Causes, 
Character and Number 

201. Name, Character and Causes of the Crusades. — 

The name "Crusade" is derived from the Cross (in Latin 
"Crux") made of cloth which the Crusaders wore on their 
outer garments. The Crusades were expeditions, at once 
miUtary and reUgious, which were undertaken in fulfillment 
of a vow or promise to deliver the Holy Land from the 
Mohammedans. The sacred places, hallowed by the life 
or death of the Savior, were dear to all Christians and were 
frequently visited by pilgrims from the West. Even after 
the conquest of Jerusalem by the Mohammedans in 637, 
the pilgrimages did not cease. While the land was under 
Saracen rule, the sacred shrines remained in Christian hands. 
The devout follower of Christ, although far from enjoying 
unrestricted freedom of travel in the East, could nevertheless 
satisfy his desire to worship God in the places sanctified by 
his Master's bodily presence. In the eleventh century an 
English abbot led as many as 600 pilgrims to Palestine, and 
a German bishop no less than 12,000. In this very century, 
however, a greater enemy to the Christian practises than the 
Saracens made its appearance. The Seljukian Turks, con- 
verts to Islam, rapidly extended their eastern conquests, 
endangered the safety of the pilgrims and threatened the 
independence of the Eastern Empire and of the whole 
Christian world. In 1070 Jerusalem fell into their hands, 
and shortly after, Syria and Asia Minor were conquered. 
Hard pressed by this terrible foe, the Eastern emperor 
appealed to the Pope for help. Although the appeal was 
particularly for military assistance, the Popes, whose office 
is primarily spiritual, became the authors and organizers of 
the Crusades. Amidst the division and strife of the feudal 
states, the papacy alone retained the great idea of Christian 
unity and looked upon all Christians as members of the 
same family. It is to the credit of the papacy to have 



feudalism; chivalry; crusades 193 

directed the warlike energies of the medieval noblemen 
against the common enemy of the Christian name, the Turk. 
Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) conceived the idea of a 
Crusade. But, engaged as he was in the Investiture Contest, 
he could not put the project into execution. The realization 
of his idea was to come shortly after under Urban II. 

202. Urban II; the Council of Clermont (1095) ; Summons 
to the First Crusade; Privileges of the Crusaders.— After 
the reign of Pope Gregory VII sad tales concerning the 
mistreatment of Christian pilgrims by the Turks caused 
indignation in the West. In 1095 Urban II convoked a 
council which met at Clermont in France and which marks 
the beginning of the Crusades. The Pope was personally 
present at this numerous gathering of Christian bishops and 
noblemen. It was he, not Peter the Hermit as has frequently 
been said, who was the originator of the First Crusade. 
He made a stirring appeal in favor of the expedition and his 
discourse was received with the greatest enthusiasm. "God 
wills it," "God wills it," words destined to become the war 
cry of the Crusaders, was the answer of the council and of 
the whole Christian world. 

Numerous preachers immediately imitated the Pope's ex- 
ample and called Christendom to war for the deliverance of 
the Holy Land. Crowds of noblemen solemnly promised to 
take part in the expedition and received as a distinctive mark 
a cross of red cloth to be worn on the shoulder. Urban II 
gave the movement a spiritual leader in Bishop Adhemar, 
whom he appointed papal legate for the expedition. He 
also granted to all participants a plenary indulgence and 
extended the Truce of God for three years. His policy was 
imitated by his successors, and g^eat spiritual advantages, 
such as remission of public penances and concessions of 
indulgences, were always granted to the Crusaders. They 
even enjoyed exemption from civil jurisdiction and invio- 
lability of persons and lands during th^ir absence in the Holy 
Land. A special legislation was, as it were, created in their 
favor. 



194 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

203. Character and Nationality of the Crusaders.— The 

Crusaders were recruited from all classes of society. Most 
of them were animated by ardent Christian zeal and prompted 
by religious motives . The living, sturdy faith of the medieval 
knight pressed him eagerly to take up arms for the deliver- 
ance of the Holy Sepulchre and the salvation of his own 
soul. It was also their strong faith which prompted in- 
numerable other persons of both sexes and all ages to join 
the movement. Women, children, and old_ men left their 
homes for the Holy Land. They knew they could not fight, 
but hoped to suffer and die for the cause of Christ. While 
the religious motive undoubtedly predominated in most of 
the Crusaders, love of gain and adventure brought not a 
few to the East. The latter hoped to better their fortunes, 
and in some instances to conquer a little principality of 
their own in the Orient. All nationalities of western Europe 
took part in the Crusades. England, France, Germany, 
Normandy, Lorraine and other states were represented. 
Most of the Crusaders, however, came from France. So 
eminent a part did the Fran-J^s play in these expeditions 
that all western Christians came in the East to be designated 
and were known for centuries as Franks. The men from 
each province or feudal estate were usually under the com- 
mand of their own lord, and no commander-in-chief was 
appointed or exercized power over all Crusaders. 

204. Number of the Crusades. — Eight important Cru- 
sades were undertaken for the deliverance of the Holy 
Land. Two of these — the first and the fourth — were led 
by noblemen, no emperor or king taking part in thern. The 
six others were all imperial or royal expeditions. The 
following is a list of the eight important Crusades, with their 
respective dates and leaders or nationalities : 

1. 1096-1099 (French, Germans, English and Normans of southern 
Italy). 

2. 1147-1149 (The Emperor Conrad III and Louis VII of France). 

3. 1189-1192 (Frederic Barbarossa, Philip II and Richard the 
Lion-Hearted). 



feudalism; chivalry; crusades 195 

4. 1202-1204 (French and Venetians). 

5. 1217-1221. (The French nobleman Jolm of Brienne and Andrew 
II of Hungary). 

6. 1228-1229 (The Emperor Frederic II). 
*7. 1248-1254 (St. Louis, King of France). 
8. 1268-1270 (St. Louis). 

III. History of the Crusades 

205. The First Crusade (1096-1099); The Four Expedi- 
tions and Their Respective Leaders. — Pope Urban's appeal 
had aroused such enthusiasm among the people that, while 
the regular troops were being collected, large disorderly 
bands of peasants and adventurers set out at once Jor 
Palestine .^under Walter the Penniless and Peter the Hermit. 
Owing to their undisciplined zeal, these bands were guilty 
of many excesses ; they plundered the country through which 
they passed, and massacred the Jews whom they encountered 
on their way. Very few of them ever reached the Holy 
Land. 

The organized expeditions were to be/our in number. 
They were to ^et out from different pomts on August 15, 
1096, and were to advance by different land routes to Con- 
stantinople. 

The leaders of these expeditions were : 

1. Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin, who, with a large 
army composed of French and German troops, arrived at Constan- 
tinople in December, 1096. ■*" 

2. Raymond of Toulouse, whose army consisted of Italian and French 
knights and who arrived in April, 1097. 

3. Bohemond, son of Robert Guiscard, and his cousin Tancred, who 
with Normans and Italians also arrived in April, 1097. 

4. Hugh of Vermandois, brother of the King of France, and Robert of 
Normandy, brother of the King of England, who, with French and 
English troops, arrived in May, 1097. 

206. The Military Operations of the First Crusade.— 

The Emperor of the East, Alexis, though alarmed at the 
number of the Crusaders, undertook to supply them with 
food, and to transport them across the Bosporus, for he 
hoped, through them, to restore his power in vSyria and Asia 



196 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Minor. Their first exploit in Asia Minor was the siege of 
Nice. Seeing that the city was about to fall, and fearing 
it would be sacked, the Emperor Alexis entered into secret 
negotiations with the besieged, who surrendered to him, 
rather than fall into the hands of the western Christians. 
The latter were thus insidiously cheated of the fruit of their 
labors. 

Soon after, the splendid victory of Dorylaeum opened for 
the Crusaders a road to the south, but the hot, dry climate, 
the hardships of the march, lack df provisions, sickness, and 
constant skirmishes with the Turks were rapidly thinning 
their ranks. The personal ambitions of some leaders 
weakened them still more by causing a division in the army. 
Baldwin and Tancred left the main body and went into 
Armenia, where they founded the Latin principality of 
Edessa. The main army advanced towards Antioch and laid 
siege to the city. The siege was a long one, and famine and 
disease decimated the Christian troops. Bohemond, the 
Norman chief, having extracted from the other leaders a 
promise that he should be the lord of the city if he captured it, 
entered into negotiations with an Armenian traitor, and, 
in the night of June 2, 1098, came into possession of the city. 
No sooner were the Christians inside the walls than a large 
Turkish army appeared and besieged it. The food found in 
the fortress was soon exhausted, and famine made itself 
felt once more. Urged partly by despair, and partly by the 
enthusiasm engendered by the discovery of a lance which 
was wrongly supposed to be the instrument of Our Lord's 
Passion, the Crusaders threw open the gates of the city, 
sallied forth and defeated and scattered the Turks. Antioch 
was erected into a Latin Principality. 

The road to Jerusalem was now opened and, after some 
delay caused by their incessant quarrels, the Crusaders 
started on their march southward. When they came in 
sight of the Holy City, their hearts overflowed with joy, 
and they began the siege with great courage. In July, 1099, 



feudalism; chivalry; crusades 197 

Jerusalem was captured by storm and the population ruth- 
lessly massacred. Godfrey of Bouillon, whose unselfish 
devotion to the holy cause had been most striking, was 
chosen to be the "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre." He did 
not take the title of king, and he had little or no political or 
military supremacy. Most of the Crusaders, having now dis- 
charged their vow, returned to their homes, leaving with 
Godfrey a very insufficient army for the defense of the Holy 
Places which had cost them so dear. 

207. The Establishment of Military Religious Orders.— 
After the first Crusade, military religious Orders were insti- 
tuted for the defense of the Holy Land. . The three most 
important creations of this kind were, in order of their in- 
stitution: (1) The Knights Hospitallers of St. John, so called 
from the Hospital in Jerusalem where they were first es- 
tablished. They became also known as Knights of Rhodes 
after their establishment in the island of that name (1310). 
They were likewise designated as the Knights of Malta, 
after Malta was turned over to them as their place of resid- 
ence by Charles V. (2) The Knights Templars, who derived 
their name from their original home located near the Temple 
in Jerusalem. (3) The Teutonic Knights, who were so 
designated from the nationality of their founders. While 
the Hospitallers and Templars were, to a large extent, French 
Orders, the Teutonic Knights were organized by Germans 
and remained German in membership. 

These new religious assumed all the obligations of monks. 
They took the vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, but 
added to them the vow to fight against the infidel. They 
were at once knights and monks. All three Orders grew 
rapidly in membership and wealth and rendered invaluable 
services to the Christian cause in the Orient or in Europe. 
Founded on zeal for religion and passion for fighting, and 
uniting in one barracks and monastery, these Orders were 
admirably suited to the spirit and needs of the age. The 
papacy, in recognition of their heroic devotion to the cause 



198 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

of religion, exempted them from the jurisdiction of kings 
and bishops and placed them under the direct authority of 
the Holy See. 

208. The Second Crusade (1147-1149).— The first im- 
portant loss of conquered territory was sustained by the 
Crusaders in 1144 when Edessa was retaken by the infidels. 
Its fall caused such commotion in the West that St. Bernard 
was commissioned by the Pope to preach a new crusade. 
The French king, Louis VII, and the Emperor Conrad III 
answered the appeal and set out for Palestine by land through 
Hungary, Greece, and Asia Minor. They met with the 
same difficulties as their predecessors, suffering not only 
from the hostility of the Turks, but also from that great 
and unexpected obstacle to the success of the Crusades, the 
treachery of the Greek Christians. The two leaders were 
unable to attack and reconquer Edessa. They reached 
Jerusalem with a small remnant of their armies and, in 
conjunction with the troops quartered in Jerusalem, ad- 
vanced to the attack of Damascus. The enterprise was un- 
successful and the Crusaders returned home without having 
accomplished anything. 

209. The Third Crusade (1189-1192).— The young king- 
dom of Jerusalem had been constantly threatened by the 
Turks, and in 1187 the fomiidable Saladin, who had already 
conquered Egypt and overthrown the Fatimite Calif, made 
a decisive attack upon the Latin kingdom. The terrible 
defeat suffered by the Christians at Hattin was followed 
shortly after by the fall of Jerusalem (1187), an event which 
was looked upon from one end of Europe to the other as a 
terrible calamity. 

William, Archbishop of Tyre, pleaded the cause of religion 
and the Holy Sepulchre, and the Emperor Frederic Bar- 
barossa, the King of France, PhiHp II Augustus, and the 
King .of England, Richard the Lion-Hearted, undertook a 
new Crusade. This expedition was well organized ; the army 
was arranged in battalions and a council of war was ap- 



FEL ivalry; crusades 199 

pointed- The ac - wning of the Emperor Frederic 

in fording a rive . .^ ' 4inor threw a gloom over his 
followers. Some of the German princes now returned home ; 
the others continued the expedition and advanced to Acre, 
which was being besieged by Christian troops. It was before 
this place that they were later joined by the French and 
English armies. The fortress was reduced in July, 1191, 
after a siege which had lasted for two years. A few weeks 
later Philip Augustus, after a quaiTcl with the English king, 
returned to France. Richard remained behind, distinguished 
himself by brilliant but useless exploits, and finally con- 
cluded a truce for three years with Saladin. While he had 
acquired a reputation for personal courage, impetuosity 
and love of adventure, he had achieved nothing of importance, 
and never even reached Jerusalem. 

210. The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) —In 1198 Pope In- 
nocent III summoned all Christians to form a new Crusade. 
Many French knights answered the call and arranged with 
the Venetians for the transportation of their troops on the 
Mediterranean. The Crusaders not being able to pay the 
price agreed upon, the Doge Dandolo asked, instead of 
money, help to regain the city of Zara in Dalmatia. This 
the Crusaders willingly gave, and having taken Zara, they 
were easily persuaded to pass by Constantinople to assist 
the dethroned Emperor Isaac against the usurper of his 
throne. Isaac in exchange promised that the Greeks would 
return to communion with the Church of Rome and that the 
fighters would receive 200,000 marks. The Crusaders 
reconquered the throne of the Eastern emperors, but Isaac 
being unable to keep his contract, they occupied the city of 
Constantinople and fourided the Latin Empire of Con- 
stantinople (1204). The expedition never reached the Holy 
Land. 

211. The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221).— The failure of the 
fourth Crusade did not dishearten the Pope, who imme- 
diately proposed a new one. The Emperor Frederic II, 



200 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

having taken the vow, put off his departure; but Andrew II, 
King of Hungary, accompanied by many Austrian and 
German lords, and aided by French troops under John of 
Brienne, titular King of Jerusalem, determined to attack 
the Moslems in Egypt. The Christian troops landed op- 
posite Damietta, a strongly fortified town, which they suc- 
ceeded in taking. The Sultan offered to restore Jerusalem in 
exchange for Damietta, but the Christians, trusting in the 
speedy arrival of Frederic II with fresh troops, refused his 
offer. After much delay, they pushed up the Nile to Man- 
surah, but the enemy opened the sluices of the river, and 
the crusading army was fortunate to be allowed to retreat 
on the condition of evacuating Damietta. 

212. The Sixth Crusade (1228-1229).— The Emperor 
Frederic II at last started on his so-called Crusade. 
No devotion or pious enthusiasm urged him ; his aims, on the 
contrary, were entirely political and selfish. Having married 
the daughter of John of Brienne, he was determined to obtain 
the kingdom of Jerusalem for his' young son. As at this 
time he was actually excommunicated, the clergy and military 
orders refused to join him. The conquest of the Holy Land 
was therefore out of the question, but he succeeded, by skilful 
negotiations which resulted in the treaty of Jaffa, in ob- 
taining nominal possession of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and 
Nazareth, and in concluding a 'truce for ten years. Without 
any religious ceremony whatever, Frederic crowned himself 
King of Jerusalem, and soon after returned to Europe (1229). 

213. The Seventh Crusade (1248-1254).— In 1244 a 
Turkish tribe fleeing before the Mongols took possession of 
Jerusalem, and this catastrophe caused a stir in Europe. 
Innocent IV appealed to the princes of Christendom in behalf 
of the Holy Places, but Louis IX, King of France, alone re- 
sponded. In June, 1248, Louis, accompanied by his three 
brothers and a large number of French knights, set sail for 
Egyi3t. The French fleet cast anchor before Damietta, 
and after a siege of two days the Saracens were defeated , 



feudalism; chivalry; crusades 201 

and the Crusaders took possession of the city. Unfortu- 
nately, it was decided to spend the winter at Damietta, and 
this period of enforced idleness was disastrous to the dis- 
cipline of the army. When the winter was over and the 
Crusaders resumed the advance, the king's brother. Count 
Robert of Artois, impetuous and imprudent, found himself 
in command of a small, undisciplined band of soldiers, 
slightly in advance of the regular army. Forgetful of his 
duty to wait for the king, he attacked and defeated the 
Saracens. They fled, pursued by Robert and his little troop. 
Noticing that they had to deal with but a small portion of 
the Christian forces, they rallied and attacked the con- 
querors, killed their commander and scattered the army. 
They succeeded also in cutting off all communication between 
the army of Louis and Damietta and in capturing him and his 
two remaining brothers. The king was obliged to surrender 
Damietta and pay a heavy ransom. He remained in the 
East for nearly four more years, hoping in vain for a new 
army. On the death of his mother, the Regent Blanche of 
Castile, in 1254, he returned to France, but remained a 
Crusader at heart. 

214. The Eighth Crusade (1268-1270).— In 1268 St. Louis, 
accompanied by his three sons, undertook a second Crusade. 
But religious enthusiasm was dead even in France. Some 
noblemen refused to accompany their royal master and the 
king's brother, Charles of Anjou, who offered his assistance, 
was animated by mercenary motives, for he hoped to collect 
a tribute which the Sultan of Tunis owed him. With this 
end in view, he persuaded Louis to go to Tunis, on the plea 
of converting its ruler to Christianity. Hardly had the 
French fleet anchored off Tunis when a plague broke out, 
the king himself was attacked, and died just before the arrival 
of Charles of Anjou and his army (August 25, 1270). 

By the king's death, Charles became the leader of the 
Crusade. He promptly concluded with the vSultan a treaty 
advantageous to his own Kingdom of Sicily and abandoned the 



202 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

expedition. With the death of vSt. Louis the period of the 
Crusades comes to an end. The childhke faith and burning 
rehgious fervor which had made them possible had ebbed 
away. New Crusades were indeed preached, after him, and 
undertaken by Christian princes in vSpain, Prussia and 
Hungary, but no army ever set sail again to rescue the Holy 
Land from the hands of the Infidel. 

IV. General Results of the Crusades 

215. The Main Object of the Crusades not attained; but 
by them Europe was saved from the Turk. — The crusading 
movement for almost two centtu-ies stirred the Christian 
world to deeds of unsurpassed heroism. The wars which it 
inspired cost western Christendom some six million livBs and 
incalculable material sacrifices. In spite of these enormous 
losses the direct and main object of the Crusades — the 
deliverance of the Holy Land — was not attained. The 
Christians, it is true, conquered Jerusalem and established 
their kingdom there. They created various states in the 
Orient and founded a Latin empire at Constantinople. But 
all these conquests were again lost and the Sacred Places 
ultimately remained in the hands of the Mohammedans. 
In spite of this apparent failure, the sacrifices were not 
made in vain. For the Turk was not merely an infidel and 
tyrannical sovereign of the Holy Land, he was also a danger 
to Europe and to all Christendom. He was ever threatening 
to extend his conquests further west. The Crusades held 
him back and weakened his power. Instead of continuing 
his fi-erce attacks on Christian lands, he was forced to defend 
the conquests already made. The Christian states es- 
tablished in the East were like a bulwark obstructing his 
forward march. While the Crusades did not result in the 
independence of Palestine, they defended and maintained 
the independence of Europe. 

216. Material Advantages and Religious Indifference re- 
sulting from the Crusades.— The Crusades also united 



feudalism; chivalry; crusades 203 

western Christendom. Under the leadership of the papacy 
the constantly warring feudal lords were brought together. 
As they were united in the same great undertaking, for a 
common purpose, their ideas broadened. From the narrow 
view of their castles, whose restricted limits were the measure 
of the world for them, they rose to the consideration of 
higher and more general interests . The West met the West in 
the Crusades, and the representatives of the various countries 
and provinces gained by mutual acquaintance. But the 
West also met the East. The latter, whether Arabic or 
Greek, had reached a higher degree of civilization than the 
former. The frequent relations which were now established 
between these so widely different parts of the world resulted 
for western Europe in the spread of refinement, greater 
commercial activity, and substantial maritime progress. 
The western nobility, born and bred in the country, saw and 
admired the treasures, art, and cultured life of cities like 
Constantinople. They witnessed the luxury and comfort of 
the East, liked and reproduced them. Artistic furniture, 
delicately wrought weapons, beautiful rugs, precious stuffs 
and silks along with mmierous other articles were introduced 
in the West. The transportation and maintenance far from 
home of large bodies of men made frequent commercial 
and maritime relations a necessity. The Italian merchants 
and ports profited particularly by this circumstance. The 
resultant improvement in the art of navigation prepared the 
later voyages of discovery. The vessels of larger size, intro- 
duced during the Crusades, rendered extended voyages less 
difficult and less dangerous. 

As a counterbalance to these material advantages, it must 
be added that the Crusades also produced religious indifference 
and considerable moral corruption. Through social intercourse . 
with persons practising a religion differing from their own, some 
of the Crusaders abated considerably in their religious enthu- 
siasm, and in some instances adopted Oriental vices. 

217. Political and Social Changes wrought by the Crusades. 
— Considered from a political viewpoint, the Crusades 



204 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

likewise wrought far-reaching changes. They greatly re- 
duced the power of the feudal lords, first because thousands 
of these lost their lives in the undertaking, and second 
because the survivors usually returned impoverished. The 
Crusaders waged war at their own expense. The cost of 
maintenance, equipment, and armament had to be borne by 
them. Considerable sums were necessary to meet these 
expenses. In order to secure the needed funds, the noble- 
men were constrained to sell or mortgage part of their 
estates. Those who survived the expeditions returned 
ruined, and were driven to a second sale or mortgage. These 
losses in lives and treasure suffered by the nobility profited 
the lord's superior, the king, and his inferiors, the vassals. 
The Crusades thus helped to strengthen the royal power and 
to prepare national unity. They also improved the condition 
and increased the rights of the vassal. The towns particu- 
larly profited by the financial embarrassment of their over- 
lords and, by offering them material help, secured important 
liberties. 

The Crusades thus contributed to the diminution of in- 
equality among the different classes, fostered a democratic 
spirit, increased the prosperity, and laid the foundation of 
the freedom of the medieval towns. 

Bibliography 
Archer and Kingsford, The Crusades. (Putnam, New York, 1894.) 
Cornish, F. W., Chivalry. (Macmillan, New York, 1908.) 
Land-Poole, S., Saladin. (Putnam, New York, 1903.) 
Oman, C, The Art of War in the Middle Ages. (Oxford, 1885.) 
Plater, C, A Primer of Peace and War. (Kenedy, New York, 1915.) 
Thatcher and McNeal, A Source Book for Mediaeval History. (Scrib- 

ner, New York, 1905.) 
Woodhouse, F. C, Military Religious Orders of the Middle Ages. (Patt 
and Young, New York, 1879.) 

Historical Novels 

Crawford, F. M., Via Crucis, A Tale of the Second Crusade. (Grosset, 

New York.) 
Miles, G. H., The Truce of God. (Benziger, New York.) 
Scott, W., Ivanhoe. (MacMilian, New York.) 



CHAPTER XVII 

NEW INSTITUTIONS: THE MENDICANT ORDERS; THE UNI- 
VERSITIES; THE INQUISITION 

I. The Mendicant Orders 

218. Thirteenth Century Conditions and the Rise of the 
Mendicant Orders. — New monastic Orders were instituted 
to meet the peculiar needs of this period. They were the 
military religious Orders, which, briefly described elsewhere, 
were organized for the armed defense of the Christian Church ; 
and the Mendicant Orders — the Franciscans and Dominicans 
— which were instituted for the moral reform and religious 
instruction of the Christian people. 

Profound changes had come over western Europe at the 
beginning of the thirteenth century. A pronounced move- 
ment of population to the towns, caused by the growth of 
industry, had taken place. The people in these new sur- 
roundings frequently found themselves reduced to the 
direst need and deprived of all spiritual care. They lived in 
misery, ignorance, and neglect. Their migration to the 
cities had removed them from the influence of the monks 
who had taught them the arts of civilization and the religion 
of Christ. These former teachers continued to fulfill their 
mission of prayer and study in the silent solitude of the 
peaceful and solitary cloister, but the people, in migrating 
to the towns, had gone beyond their reach, and could no 
longer seek from them the spiritual ministrations of which 
they stood in need. On the other hand, the priests in the 
towns were few in number and frequently unable to cope with 
the difficulties of the new situation. Thus cut off from 
spiritual influences, the people easily became a prey to the 
contemporary heresies or abandoned all practise of religion. 
The danger to society arising from this new situation was 

205 



206 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

increased by the spirit of intellectual and religious unrest 
prevalent in learned circles. In the universities philosophical 
speculations and theological controversies had assumed such 
a daring character that they menaced the teaching, life, 
and organization of the Church. To the ignorance and 
neglect of religion among the masses were thus added a 
wavering faith and restless questioning in intellectual circles. 
It was to check these evils and provide a remedy that the 
Mendicant Orders were instituted. The Franciscans labored 
more particularly at the moral reform of the people; the 
Dominicans worked especially among the intellectual classes. 
The members of both Orders appeared not merely as monks 
intent upon their own personal sanctification, but as apostles 
devoting their time and consecrating their lives to the 
salvation of others. They knew the people, lived and 
labored among the people. They even became directly 
dependent on the people for their support, renouncing all 
possessions, not only as individuals, as had so far been the 
monastic practise, but also as a community or monastery. 
So absolute was their poverty that they went about begging 
their daily means of subsistence, a circumstance to which 
they owe their name of Mendicant or Begging Friars. Their 
convents were established, not in the country, but in the 
towns, and the advantages of their religious rule were ex- 
tended to both sexes and to all classes. One religious 
Order was established for men, another for women, and a 
so-called Third Order included persons who could not 
abandon the world, but adopted certain religious practises 
suited to their state of life. 

219. Establishment of the Franciscans. — St. Francis of 
Assisi was born in 1181 or 1182, the son of a rich merchant 
of Assisi in Italy, and was at first associated with his father 
in trade. He showed, however, little liking for a merchant's 
career and led a rather gay life until the age of twenty-three. 
Two illnesses, with which he was afflicted in rapid succession, 
turned his mind to thoughts of eternity and made him re* 




St. Francis of Assisi {Barhieri) 



NEW INSTITUTIONS 207 

nounce the world and all earthly ^oods. He bej^an the life 
of an itinerant penitent, and went about, admired by some, 
but scoffed at by others, preaching penance everywhere. 
Some companions soon joined him and for them he wrote 
his first rule, which was very brief and was based on excerpts 
from the Sacred Scriptures (1209). To this little band he 
gave the name of Friars Minor ("Httle, humble, meek 
brothers"). Drawn by his example and encouraged by his 
counsels, Clare, a young heiress of Assisi, took the veil and 
became the foundress of the Second Franciscan Order, that 
of the Poor Ladies or Poor Clares (1212). The two Orders 
grew so rapidly that a definite and comprehensive rule 
became a necessity for each and was drafted by St. Francis. 
The rule for men was approved by the Holy See in 1223 and 
that for women in 1251. As early as 1221 the Founder 
completed the Franciscan organization by the establishment 
of a Third Order composed exclusively of lay membership. 
Shortly after, on October 3, 1226, he breathed his last in 
the Church of the Portiuncula near Assisi, and was canonized 
two years after his death. 

220. The Foundmg of the Dominicans. — St. Dominic was 
born in 1170 at Calaroga in Spain. He belonged to a noble 
and religious family and exhibited, from childhood, fervor 
in prayer and attraction for an ascetic life. As a student at 
Palencia, he was remarkable, amidst the frivolities of a 
university town, for his earnest and edifying conduct. He 
thus recommended himself for ordination to the priesthood 
and the position of canon regular in his native diocese. In 
1206 he accompanied his bishop to southern France, where 
his soul was deeply stirred at the progress of the Albigensian 
heresy. He resolved to devote his life, in apostolic simplicity, 
to the conversion of these heretics. Seeing how successfully 
their women spread the error through the erection of convents 
and through active means of propaganda, he immediately 
established a convent of women for the defense and propaga- 
tion of the Catholic faith among the members of their sex. 



208 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

This was his first foundation, although it is generally known 
as the Second Order. Little by little a band of Apostolic 
men grouped themselves round him and formed the nucleus 
of a new religious Order of men. In 1215 vSt. Dominic went 
to Rome to seek its approbation. Innocent III granted the 
Saint's request in 1216 and placed the monks under the rule 
of St. Augustine. This rule was completed and considerably 
modified in 1220 by the adoption of strict poverty. Inno- 
cent's successor, Honorius III, gave the new religious the 
name of Friars Preachers with permission to preach and hear 
confessions ever3Awhere, a privilege which was shortly after 
extended to the Franciscans. Dominic, like Francis, 
organized a Third Order consisting of men and women living 
in the world. He died August 6, 1221. 

The growth of the Mendicant Orders was very rapid, and 
was due to the warm encouragement they received from the 
papacy and the marked favor they enjoyed with the people. 
Before the thirteenth century had run its course, the Fran- 
ciscans numbered more than 60,000; the Dominicans, 
although much less numerous, had spread all over Europe 
and had established a mission in far-away Greenland. The 
two Orders not only worked at the conversion of the heathen 
and the reform of the Catholic people, but took a leading 
part in the intellectual life of the time and had representatives 
like Saint Bona venture and Saint Thomas Aquinas at the 
universities. 

II. The Universities; Scholasticism; Gothic 

Art 

221. The Rise of the Universities; Bologna and Paris. — 

Enactments were framed at different times by both ec- 
clesiastical and civil authorities that each church and monas- 
tery should maintain a school. These prescriptions had 
been carried into efifect in most places in the eleventh century, 
so that even rural communities had their schools. The 



NEW INSTITUTIONS 209 

Christian world was thus prepared for the estaljlisliment of 
institutions impartinc^ higher education and speeiahzing in 
certain branches of knowledge. Schools of this kind rose 
to importance particularly in the thirteenth century and 
were soon designated'by the name of universities. The term, 
however, originally did not have the meaning that is now 
attached to it. It was not applied to any buildings or 
material equipment, since such were non-existent, but to 
the men who taught or studied in the institution. It desig- 
nated all those ("universitas," the universality, aggregate) 
belonging to a corporation or association. This association 
might be formed by the professors or students. As a result, 
two kinds of medieval universities have to be distinguished: 
(1) The aristocratic or master type in which the professors 
combined and exercized power; (2) The democratic or student 
university in which the scholars united and, while remaining 
dependent on the faculties in regard to degrees, imposed, 
in many other things, their rule on the institution. The 
university of Paris is the most illustrious example of the 
former type; that of Bologna is an instance of the latter. 
These two universities were the most celebrated of the 
Middle Ages. Paris was chiefly renowned for its theology; 
Bologna was famous particularly as a law school. Each 
organization was reproduced by many other institutions, 
that of Paris serving as model chiefly for the universities of 
northern Europe, that of Bologna being copied especially in 
the south. 

222. Privileges of Universities. — The medieval universities 
were not created by any one single act, but grew gradually. 
Both the civil and the ecclesiastical power anxiously en- 
deavored to secure the favor and support of these influential 
intellectual centres. Emperors, kings, and princes guaran- 
teed them protection and granted them charters of privileges. 
But the ruler whose favors and charters were most highly 
valued was the Pope, who, owing to the universal character 
of the Catholic Church, could guarantee to the graduates 



210 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the cherished right to teach everywhere in reahty as well as 
in name. The universities soon possessed such extensive 
privileges that they formed in the town an almost complete^ 
independent organization. They enjoyed the right not only 
of administering their own affairs without reference to the 
bishop or the local civil authority, but were also empowered 
to judge and punish offenses committed by their own mem- 
bers. Each formed a sort of self-governing and self-judging 
literary republic. If they became involved in difficulties 
with the local authorities they could exercize the right sanc- 
tioned by the Pope to suspend lectures, i. e., to strike until 
their grievances were redressed. This was a most effective 
weapon, as a prolonged strike would readily lead to a migra- 
tion of professors and students to a neighboring and rival 
town. Such migrations could easily be undertaken as the 
university owned no buildings, halls, or expensive equip- 
ment. It was in fact in this manner that several new uni- 
versities were established. 

223. University Degrees and Organization. — In so far 
as the subjects taught in the universities are concerned, 
professors and students were usually divided into four facul- 
ties: Fine Arts, Theology, Law, and Medicine. The faculty 
of the Fine Arts had the most numerous attendance and 
prepared the student for specialization in the other faculties. 
All the teaching at the university was done in Latin, for its 
principal aim was to train for a position in the Church, which 
used the Latin language. The method was identical every- 
where. It consisted in the reading and interpretation of 
certain texts. The chief among these were the Scriptures, 
the Decretals of the Popes, the books of Aristotle and some 
works on Medicine. They were not read in the original but 
in Latin translations. Nor were they placed in the hands of 
the students, but were cited and commented on by the master. 

As the great practical aim of the university was to train 
masters or teachers, the three degrees which it conferred 
possessed a corresponding significance: (1) The baccalaureate 



NEW INSTITUTIONS 211 

showed that the student had become an apprentice in the 
teaching art; (2) the licentiate was nothing else than the 
Hcense or permission to teach granted even before the 
candidate had stood the test of a final examination; (3) 
the doctor or master's degree, the highest obtainable, signified 
that the student had successfully passed all the examinations 
and had been given general authorization to teach. 

The principal administrative officials of the university 
were the chancellor, the rector, the deans, and the proctors. 
The chancellor represented the papacy and conferred the 
degrees. The deans were the heads of the respective faculties. 
The rector was originally the dean of the faculty of arts, but, 
owing to the importance of that school, he soon rose above his 
colleagues, and was in many respects the real head of the 
university. The proctors represented the interests of the 
nations into which the students of a university were divided. 
The rights of aliens being very restricted in the medieval 
towns ; the students who came from many countries organized 
themselves into national bodies such as the French nation, 
the English nation. The proctors were the elected officials 
whom they deputed to defend their rights in the government 
of the university. 

224. Number and Character of Students ; Student Lif e.— 
The number of students in attendance at medieval uni- 
versities is frequently rated as very high. The university 
of Paris is said to have had as many as 20,000 or even 30,000 
students at one time. These figures are by many present- 
day historians considered as undoubtedly exaggerated. 
The figure of 6,000 or 7,000 is looked upon as being closer to 
the truth. Nor were even these students all graduate 
scholars. Many of them were no more than fourteen years 
old and were doing high school work. Frequent dissensions 
divided the student body and the townspeople. The age 
was lawless and barbarous, and the students were no better 
than the age. For many the university was a convenient 
place to idle away their time in riotous company rather 



212 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

than an institution to which they came with the purpose of 
acquiring knowledge and training their character. Frequent 
brawls and deadly fights between the students and towns- 
people enlivened things in a medieval university town. 
The municipality was often forced to yield important con- 
cessions to the university so as to prevent an exodus which 
threatened with economic ruin an otherwise not very populous 
centre. In order to regulate the life of the students and 
enforce discipline, colleges were soon established in uni- 
versity towns. At first boarding houses or dormitories 
established for the benefit of poor students, they eventually 
became institutions having an academic character and subject 
to university control. 

225. Scholasticism; the Scholastics or Schoohnen. — The 
universities of the thirteenth century were flourishing centres 
of scholastic teaching, i. e., of that method of oral disputa- 
tion in syllogistic form having for its object the elucidation of 
philosophical problems and the scientific demonstration of 
revealed doctrine. The great teachers using this system are 
called "Scholastics" or "Schoolmen." Among them the 
most illustrious deserve at least a passing notice. St. 
Anselm (1033-1109) is usually rated as the first Scholastic; 
Abelard (1079-1142) as the most brilliant thinker of his age. 
Peter Lombard (d. 1164) had the good fortune of having his 
work called "Sentences" adopted as the favorite textbook 
in the schools. St. Bonaventure (1221-1274) and Duns 
Scotus (1266-1308) were the two most illustrious Schoolmen 
of the Franciscan Order; while Blessed Albertus Magnus 
(1193-1280) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) occupy a 
similar position among the Dominicans. The last-named, 
frequently called the Angelic Doctor, is the recognized chief 
of the Schoolmen, while the Franciscan Roger Bacon (1214- 
1294), owing to his special attention to experiments and the 
natural sciences, is the point of connection between Scholas- 
ticism and the Physical Science of a later day. Finally, the 
latest representative of Scholasticism is the obscure Gabriel 



NEW INSTITUTIONS 213 

Biel (1425-1495), who has been called "the last of the School- 
men." 

226. Name and Origin of Gothic Art.— As Scholasticism 
was in science, so was Gothic in art the distinctive expression 
of Catholic culture in the thirteenth century. Gothic 
architecture has long been considered one of the finest and 
most perfect styles ever invented. Its artistic qualities were, 
however, not always appreciated and recognized. The 
name Gothic was applied to it in derision by Italian archi- 
tects. Enthusiastic admirers of classical art, they errone- 
ously considered the masterpieces, which remained unin- 
fluenced by Greek or Roman models, as the productions of 
barbarians like the Goths. The style originated, however, 
not with any uncivilized tribe, but was invented in France, 
and more precisely in that part of France formed by Paris 
and the surrounding districts. 

The finest specimens of Gothic art are found in those 
splendid churches of the Middle Ages which still fill the 
beholder with wonder. It is almost impossible, in our age, 
to realize how such beautiful piles, which would now cost 
millions of dollars, could be reared by the medieval towns, 
which were neither large nor wealthy. Still, not only a 
few, but many, Gothic cathedrals were built and at times 
completed only after a century or two of persevering labor. 
They bear silent but eloquent witness to the living faith, 
unbounded generosity and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice of 
those ages. 

227. Characteristics of Gothic Architecture. — The first 
traces of Gothic architecture are found in the twelfth century. 
Up to that time churches were built in the Romanesque 
style which was so named from its resemblance to the 
old Roman architecture. The Romanesque churches had 
stone ceilings which, owing to their heavy weight, had to 
be supported by massive walls. So as not to weaken these, 
the windows were small and, as a consequence, the buildings 
dark inside. The windows were rounded at the top and the 



214 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

rounded arch was one of the characteristics of the Roman- 
esque style. The church was divided into three parts, a 
central part or nave and two side aisles. The aisles were 
separated from the nave by heavy colimins which helped to 
support the ceiling. 

These massive features are conspicuous by their absence 
in the Gothic style. French architects discovered that the 
ceiling or vaulting of the church could be supported by 
stone ribs, several of which could be brought together and 
made to rest on one pillar, somewhat as the branches of a 
tree rest on one trunk. As the weight of several ribs might, 
nevertheless, prove excessive for one column, flying but- 
tresses relieved the pressure on the latter. These flying 
buttresses themseves rested on powerful buttresses which 
were built outside the church with the primary purpose of 
strengthening the walls. This new way of holding the ceiling 
made the massive walls unnecessary and the introduction of 
large windows possible. The Gothic windows were pointed 
at the top instead of rounded as in the Romanesque architec- 
ture, and Gothic is therefore sometimes referred to as 
pointed architecture. The absence of massive walls, the 
use of buttresses, and the Pointed Arch form essential features 
of the Gothic style. 

228. The Influence and Spread of Gothic. — As in Gothic 
buildings the windows were high and wide and admitted a 
flood of light, stained glass was used to soften the effect, 
and lent an air of mystery, devotion and sweetness to the 
interior. The stained glass windows form by themselves 
valuable treasures of medieval art. Gothic was not only a 
new invention in architecture, it also opened new fields to 
painting and sculpture, which were used profusely in the 
delightful interior and exterior ornamentation of churches. 
Innumerable statues and large windows reproduced important 
themes of the life of the Savior and the Saints, and were, in 
an age of signs and symbols, potent means of popular religi- 
ous instruction. 



NEW INSTITUTIONS 215 

Gothic architecture reached its most exquisite fomi and 
full development in the thirteenth century. It spread from 
France to England, Germany, Italy, and other countries. 
In France the cathedrals of Rheims, Amiens, and Chartres 
are magnificent monuments built in this style. In England 
the cathedrals of Salisbury and Exeter, in Germany that of 
Cologne, and in Italy that of Milan are among the best 
known examples. The style always remained chiefly a 
northern art and never enjoyed wide popularity in Italy. 

III. The Inquisition 

229. Definition and Origin of the Inquisition.— The In- 
quisition (from the Latin "inquirere" to inquire, to look into) 
was a special ecclesiastical institution established for the 
discovery and suppression of heresy. Although heresies 
appeared at an early date in the Christian Church, the 
Inquisition was instituted at a comparatively late date. 
It was introduced in 1184 at a council held at Verona in 
northern Italy and was further developed and more com- 
pletely organized by subsequent councils. At Verona the 
bishops were directed to search out heretics and to bring 
them to punishment. The spiritual penalties were to be 
pronounced against them by the Church, the material or 
bodily punishment to be inflicted by the secular power. 
The council clearly held that not only spiritual, but also 
material penalties such as imprisonment or banishment, 
should be visited on heretics. This attitude, maintained 
throughout the Middle Ages, was due to the prevalent per- 
suasion that heresy was not only an ecclesiastical offense, 
but also a civil crime. It was looked upon as the wilful and 
obstinate denial of an essential doctrine of the Catholic 
Church, and hence, as a dangerous attack on the unity and 
peace of the state. Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) likened 
it to high treason, and this opinion became prevalent after 
him. A council held in 1229 at Toulouse in southern France 
instituted the bishops or their delegates as responsible in- 



216 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

quisitors, and practically constituted the Inquisition in the 
form under which it became famous. 

230. The Inquisitorial Tribunal. — The tribunal of the 
Inquisition was not located in any one town or country. 
The inquisitors went about from place to place, and where 
they sat there was the tribunal. They might come fre- 
quently to the same city and might not visit others. Their 
movements and journey ings were contingent on the presence 
or absence of heresy in the different localities. Upon their 
arrival in a place they issued a summons citing every heretic 
before them. A period not exceeding thirty days was 
usually allowed in which to comply with this injunction and 
was called the time of grace. The persons who obeyed the 
summons and acknowledged their guilt were treated with 
leniency. Those, on the contrary, who failed to come forv/ard 
freely, had to be denounced by the Catholic people. The 
names of the accusers, for their own safety and protection, 
were withheld from the alleged heretic. The names of all 
the witnesses to his guilt were, for the same reason, kept 
from him. He could get rid of some testimony against 
himself only by naming, and thus excluding as. witnesses, 
his mortal enemies. He was not entitled to counsel, as no 
one was supposed to defend a heretic. Two witnesses of 
good reputation were sufficient for a declaration of guilt by 
the judges, even in face of the denial of the accused. Under 
these circumstances accusation was bound to result fre- 
quently in condemnation. Once declared a heretic, the 
accused could choose one of two courses: he could abjure 
the false doctrine, or remain obstinate in his denial of guilt 
or in his profession of heresy. If he recanted, a suitable 
penance was imposed. It consisted either in the performance 
of some pious observances, the wearing of yellow crosses on 
the outer garment, or imprisonment. If the person declared 
a heretic by the Inquisition remained obdurate either in 
denial of his guilt or profession of heresy, the Inquisition did 
not condemn him to death, but merely withdrew the pro- 



NEW INSTITUTIONS 217 

tection of the Church and handed him over to the secular 
power. The legal punishment of death at the stake was now 
inflicted by the state except when the heretic recanted at the 
last moment. In such a case his punishment was, at least 
at times, commuted to life imprisonment. 

231. The Punishment of Heretics. — Severe punishment 
was decreed in ecclesiastical law against heretics and their 
abettors. Any one who knowingly harbored a heretic was 
to suffer the loss of his property. The house in which a 
heretic was detected was to be demolished and the ground 
confiscated. The uniform punishment inflicted on obstinate 
heretics soon came to be death at the stake. This penalty 
was derived from the Roman Law which, on the one hand, 
imposed death for high treason and, on the other, burned 
alive the Manicheans, members of an early heretical sect. 
The heretics of North Italy and South France, against whom 
the Inquisition was established, held views similar to those 
of the Manicheans. It was consequently natural that, 
among the various forms of capital punishment, death at the 
stake should be adopted as the punishment for heresy. As 
early as 1224 the Emperor Frederic II framed a law for 
Lombardy, according to which heretics were to be burned to 
death or at least to have their tongues cut out. This was of 
course merely a civil law, but it was shortly after accepted by 
the papacy and the infliction of the death penalty was sanc- 
tioned by the Church. The ecclesiastical authorities did 
not, indeed, execute the heretics, but they handed them over 
to the civil power for capital punishment. 

232. Character of the Inquisitois. — The Inquisition, origi- 
nally an episcopal institution, took on a monastic character 
in 1231 when Pope Gregory IX transferred it to two newly 
founded religious Orders, the Franciscans and, particularly, 
the Dominicans. While the bishops still exercized some 
control over it, the inquisitors were usually chosen from 
among the members of these religious Orders. Several 
reasons and excellent qualifications commended them for 



218 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the office. Both Franciscans and Dominicans, although 
of recent institution, enjoyed in the highest degree the favor 
and confidence of the people. They were distinguished for 
their religious zeal and ecclesiastical learning. They vowed 
the practise of poverty in its greatest perfection and were 
less accessible to the influence of pecuniary advantage or 
worldly motives. Generally speaking, the inquisitors were 
in reality men of spotless character. They led saintly lives, 
and not a few of them have deserved to be canonized by 
the Catholic Church. Not only were they saintly in con- 
duct, they were also usually wise in judgment. It is true 
that the Inquisition and its officials have been vehemently 
assailed and violently denounced. The general abuse heaped 
on institution and men is, however, not deserved. Here, as 
in many other instances, the blemishes, defects, and evils 
are alone spoken of, the good features of the system and its 
excellent officials are ignored. Some inquisitors undoubtedly 
displayed excessive zeal, used harsh measures, and too readily 
pronounced the terrible sentence of guilt in heresy trials. 
Their blameworthy actions and unfair proceedings must be 
condemned, but it must be remembered that this condemna- 
tion should not be so extended as to include the Inquisition 
itself as an institution, or even the general methods which 
were used to attain its ends — methods which were indeed in 
entire accordance with the laws of the period. As for those 
officials of the Inquisition, few in comparison with the total 
number of those in whose hands lay its administration, who 
at times overstepped the bounds of zeal, of prudence, and 
even of justice, we must judge them as persons guilty of 
transgressing the ordinances of the Church and state, which 
were intended to govern and direct their judicial proceedings. 
Far from being guilty with them, the Church did its best to 
safeguard the justice of the administration of the Inquisition. 
233. The Use of Torture and the Inquisition. — A feature 
which gave the administration of justice in the Middle 
Ages a character of barbarous cruelty was the use of the 



NEW INSTITUTIONS 219 

torture. It was employed to elicit the truth, to extort 
confession, rather than as a mode of punishment. Both 
ecclesiastical and civil authorities had recourse to it. The 
torture was, however, not of ecclesiastical origin and was 
even forbidden for a long time in the Church's courts. 
Authorization to use it in inquisitorial trials was granted 
only in 1252, with the limitation that it should be applied 
only once to the same person. Some inquisitors, however, 
soon quibbled about the restriction and disregarded it entirely 
in practise. They applied different kinds of torture, using 
each kind but on'ce ; or they applied the torture for every new 
piece of evidence they obtained. They even went so far as 
to use it on different days and to call these repetitions the 
continuation of the first application. Among the forms of 
torture in use was the rationing of the alleged heretic so as 
to starve him into confession, or the extension of his body 
in the rack, or again the tying to a rope and raising him by 
means of a pulley to a considerable height and suddenly 
dropping him, with a jerk, to within a few inches from the 
ground. The result of such torments frequently was that 
the victim, even though innocent, declared himself guilty 
in order to obtain temporary relief. Any confession of 
guilt proved agreeable to the inquisitors. Taking its sin- 
cerity for granted they looked upon it as the beginning of the 
culprit's conversion. They had been instrumental, so they 
held, in bringing about a man's salvation, and, for such an 
end, they considered any means, not in itself bad, as justified. 
234. Countries in which the Inquisition was established; 
the Spanish Inquisition; Number of Victims. — The Inqui- 
sition flourished particularly in central and southern 
Europe. It was never introduced into Scandinavia, 
and was used in England only at the trial of the 
Knights Templars. In Spain it had already fallen into 
disuse in 1480, when it was reorganized at the 
solicitation of the civil government. The institution thus 
'reestablished with papal sanction is specifically known as 



220 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the Spanish Inquisition and was transplanted to the vSpanish- 
American colonies. While it did not differ essentially from 
the Inquisition as it existed in other countries and bore like 
them an ecclesiastical character, it was nevertheless an in- 
stitution in which the Spanish government played always an 
important and frequently a preponderant part. The Popes 
at times insisted on greater leniency in its proceedings, and 
less harshness in its punishments; but the inquisitors too 
often heeded the wishes or behests of the reigning king of 
Spain and ignored the directions and censures of their 
ecclesiastical superior in far-off Rome. 

The inquisitors were chiefly bent on bringing about 
the heretic's conversion and salvation, as is evidenced 
by the fact that they displayed greater severity in apply- 
ing the torture than in pronouncing condemnation. It 
is true that, to some non-Catholic writers, no figures 
seem too high in their estimates of the Inquisi- 
tion's victims. One historian writes that over 100,000 
persons were punished by the institution in Spain alone 
in a period of fifteen years. Such figures are, however, 
palpably false and usually originate in the fertile brains of 
authors hostile to the Catholic Church. It is impossible to 
present any general statistics of a reliable nature; but it is 
certain that only some of those found guilty of heresy were 
delivered up to the secular arm and executed. In one 
French town, concerning which accurate information is at 
hamd, one out of every thirteen, and in another, one out of 
every twenty-two, heretics suffered the death penalty. 
In an age when cruel punishment was inflicted for small 
offenses, such a proportion of executions, for the worst crime 
of the day, cannot have appeared excessively high. 

235. Conditions accounting for the Existence and Severity 
of the Inquisition. — In order to judge fairly either the 
Inquisition in general, or the Spanish Inquisition in par- 
ticular, it ought to be remembered that supernatural faith 
does not consist in opinions changing with one's varying and 



NEW inst'itutions 221 

conflicting moods, but is a finn belief in a well-defined body 
of doctrine. The true faith is, moreover, a divine gift more 
precious than life itself, and perishes with the deliberate 
and obstinate rejection of a doctrine taught by the infallible 
authority of the Catholic Church. This authority has 
jurisdiction over all those who, through baptism, have 
become members of the society which it rules. As the civil 
power imposes at times unpleasant duties and heavy services 
on its citizens, so also the ecclesiastical authority has the 
right to admonish and punish the faithful. It was over 
these, over baptized persons, and never over the unbaptized 
(Jews or pagans), that the authority of the Inquisition was 
exercized. 

In punishing heretics the Church went so far as to j-^anction, 
though never to inflict, capital punishment. This was 
partly due to the fact that, on the one hand, heretics imperiled 
the faith of their fellow-men, and that, on the other, the 
medieval heresies frequently endangered the very existence 
of the state. The Albigenses, against whom the Inquisition 
was organized, commended suicide and denounced marriage 
and the bringing forth of children as evil. The state had to 
take the sternest measures to uproot such views and prevent 
their spread. Excesses were, it is true, committed by the 
Inquisition ; but where is the human institution free from all 
abuse? The penalties, it must be admitted also, were 
terrible and appear to us cruel and barbarous, but medieval 
laws were much more drastic than ours and imposed im- 
measurably heavier punishment, as when in France the theft 
of a loaf of bread was punished by the loss of a limb. More- 
over, we repeat, the penalties, when it was a question of 
corporal punishment, were always inflicted by the state. 
Greater tolerance is indeed in evidence today, but that is 
not always a proof of a wider practise of Christian charity; 
it undoubtedly also points to greater religious indifference 
because of the changed relations of Church and state today. 
At any rate, this tolerance was not introduced by Protes- 



222 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

tantism, which is so prone to bring against the Church 
baseless charges and unfounded accusations; to quote a 
Protestant historian: "To the great humiUation of the 
Protestant Churches rehgious intolerance and even religious 
persecution unto death were continued long after the Reforma- 
tion. In Geneva the pernicious theory was put into practise 
by state and Church, even to the use of torture and the 
admission of the testimony of children against their parents, 
and with the sanction of Calvin. "^ 
Bibliography 
I. De Cherance-O'Connor, St. Clare of Assist. (Benziger, New York, 
1910.) 
Drane, A. T., The History of St. Dominic. (Longmans, New York, 

1891.) 
Dubois, L., St. Francis of Assist, Social Reformer. (Benziger, 

New York, 1905.) 
Egan, M. F., Everybody's St. Francis. (The Century Co., New 

York, 1912.) 
Guiraud-De Mattos, St. Dominic. (Duckworth, London, 1901.) 
Le Monnier, L., History of St. Francis. (K. Paul, London, 1894.) 
Shahan, Guilday, Robinson, on Dominicans in Catholic University 
Bulletin. (November, 1916.) 
XL Cram, R. A., The Substance of Gothic. (Marshall Jones, Boston, 
1917.) 
Laurie, S. S., The Rise and Early Constitution of Universities. (D. 

Appleton, New York, 1887.) 
Rait, R. S., Life in the Medieval University. (Putnam, New 

York, 1912.) 
Rashdall, H., The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages. 2 

vols. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1895.) 
Rickaby, J., Scholasticism. (Dodge, New York, 1908.) 
IIL Lea, H. C, A History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages. 3 
vols. (New York, 1906-07.) 
Idem, A History of the Inquisition in Spain. 4 vols. (Mac- 

millan. New York, 1906-07.) 
Vacandard-Conway, The Inquisition. (Longmans, New York, 
1908.) 

Historical Novel 
Aveling.F., Arnoul the Englishman. (Benziger, New York.) 



Schaff. History of the Christian Church (New York, 1907), Vol. V, p. 524. 



THIRD EPOCH (1270-1517) 

236. General Statement.— The epoch extending from 1270 
to 1517 is sometimes called the period of the formation 
of Modern States or, also, the period of the Renaissance. 
While it is usually reckoned as a part of the Middle Ages, 
it is in reality a time of transition from the Medieval 
to the Modern Age. The characteristics of the Medieval 
world, such as childlike faith and deep religious senti- 
ment, have disappeared, while the traits of individualism, 
worldliness, and selfishness, so prominent in the Modern 
Period, appear and grow. The following general features 
mark the epoch : 

1. In the department of government, the decHne of the 
papal and the growth of the royal power. 

2. In politics, the growth of nationalities and the forma- 
tion of national states, especially in France, England and 
Spain. 

- 3. In intellectual pursuits, the revival of classical studies. 
4. In the scientific world, inventions and discoveries of 
inestimable value. 



223 



CHAPTER XVIll 
THE PAPACY: RESIDENCE AT AVIGNON, THE GREAT SCHISM 

I. Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) and King 
Philip IV the Fair (1285-1314) 

237. Boniface VIII, Philip the Fair and the Taxation of 
Ecclesiastical Property. — In the conflict between papacy and 
empire the Popes had successfully vindicated the rights of 
the Church and the independence of the Holy See. They 
had triumphed completely over the emperors, but had 
achieved their success with the support of the French kings. 
It was with these rulers that Boniface VIII became involved, 
toward the end of the thirteenth century, in a new struggle 
regarding the respective rights of the civil and of the ec- 
clesiastical power. He attempted to exercize that power 
over princes which Gregory VII had claimed and Innocent 
III had acquired. But, in his assertion of papal supremacy, 
he left out of consideration both the change in the temper of 
the times and the strength of the forces arrayed against him. 
As a result his policy was an almost complete failure, and 
with his reign clearly begins the decline of the medieval 
power of the papacy. 

Boniface, who has been called the last of the Medieval 
Popes, was of noble birth and commanding presence; he 
was experienced in the conduct of affairs and skilled in both 
ecclesiastical and civil law. His chief aim was the restoration 
of general European peace preparatory to the organization 
of a Crusade. The most serious obstacle to the realization 
of his project was the war then in progress between King 
Philip IV the Fair of France and King Edward I of England. 
Boniface mediated between the two sovereigns, but had little 
success in effecting a reconciliation. He then resolved on 
224 



THE PAPACY 225 

an effective means of brin<;in<i^ the war to an end. As the 
two monarchs derived the funds necessary for its prosecution 
largely from the taxes levied on ecclesiastical property, he 
forbade, on the one hand, laymen to accept, and on the other, 
ecclesiastics to give up Church revenues without the permis- 
sion of the Holy See. The prohibition, which w^as to be 
observed under pain of excommunication, was contained in 
the Bull "Clericis laicos" and roused opposition in England 
and particularly in France. King Philip the Fair retaliated 
and published a decree in which he forbade the exportation of 
gold, silver, and precious metals from his kingdom and the 
sojourn of foreign merchants within its confines. This 
measure hit the Holy See with particular directness, as a 
large part of its revenues was derived from France. The 
Pope, in order to mollify the king, declared that the prohibi- 
tion of the "Clericis laicos" did not extend to ordinary feudal 
dues, nor to financial assistance granted by ecclesiastics to 
the civil power in time of need. In other ways also, notably 
the canonization of Louis IX, Philip's grandfather, he showed 
his spirit of conciliation and his desire for peace. His well- 
meant efforts were crowned with success. The French 
government abandoned the measures it had taken against 
the Holy See, and in 1298 complete harmony seemed to be 
restored between France and Rome. 

238. New Conflict between Boniface VIII and Philip the 
Fair. — Pope and king were to remain at peace only for a 
short time. It could not be otherwise, as they differed too 
radically in their attitude toward the important question 
of the relations between Church and state. The Pope held 
fast to the ecclesiastical rights and political power which 
he had inherited from his predecessors. The king wished 
to be free from all restraint and to carry on the government 
without any regard to ecclesiastical authority. He had even 
formed the plan of establishing a universal empire in which 
the Pope would be no more than a Church dignitary, subject 
to the authority and maintained by the money of the state. 



226 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

How little Philip the Fair respected in fact the rights of the 
Church became daily more evident from the information 
and complaints forwarded to Rome. In LSOl a papal legate 
was sent to France to make remonstrances on this score and 
to promote the organization of a Crusade. The king had 
the envoy arrested, tried, and condemned on an unfounded 
charge of high treason. Boniface VIII, indignant at such 
high-handed proceedings, revoked all the privileges previ- 
ously granted to the king, demanded the release of the papal 
legate, and summoned the French bishops to a council in 
Rome. At this prospective assembly, measures were to be 
taken to put an end to the oppression of the French Church, 
and means discussed to effect the reform of king and king- 
dom. Philip himself was cited to Rome to answer the charges 
against his conduct. The king, far from showing signs of 
repentance, acted in absolute defiance of ecclesiastical 
authority. He suppressed the papal letter addressed to 
him and substituted in its place a forged document which 
curtly and peremptorily asserted his subjection to the 
Pope in temporal as well as in spiritual matters. This 
declaration, deliberately and falsely attributed to Boniface, 
aroused a storm of indignation in France, and won the 
nation over to the king's side. In order further to strengthen 
his position, Philip convoked in 1302 the first States General 
ever held in France. So far it had indeed been customary 
for the kings to consult the representatives of the clergy and 
nobility; but the representatives of the people, or Third 
Estate, were now for the first time admitted to the councils 
of royalty. The States General approved, as was expected, 
the king's policy. 

In the face of such national feeling, Rome tried to smooth 
matters over, but without success. It sought to explain 
that kings and princes are subject to the Pope in their 
government only in so far as the temporal matters, over 
which they exercize control, are connected with spiritual 
things. This interpretation, however, only added fuel to 



THE PAPACY 227 

the flames. Accusations of most abominahlc and even 
impossible crimes were brought against Boniface by PhiHp's 
counsellors. He believed, it was charged, neither in Tran- 
substantiation nor the immortality of the soul, forced priests 
to violate the secret of confession, practised simony, idolatry, 
and magic, was addicted to immorality, and used a demon* 
as his counsellor. Boniface had taken up his summer 
residence in his native town, Anagni, when he was informed 
to what extremes the French government had gone. He 
took a solemn and public oath that he was innocent of the 
crimes imputed to him, and was about to excommunicate the 
King of France, when a tragic event gave an unexpected 
turn to the bitter contest. 

239. Boniface VIII is taken prisoner at Anagni; His 
Death (1303). — Philip the Fair was deteimined to prevent 
or nullify at all costs the impending sentence of excommuni- 
cation. The plan, which had long since been formed, of 
ending the struggle by seizing the pontiff's person and 
carrying him off to France, was now put into execution. 
William of Nogaret, one of the king's agents, and Sciarra 
Colonna, a member of that Colonna family with which 
Boniface had been engaged in a deadly feud, had already 
been stirring up, for some months, antipapal feeling in 
Italy. Nogaret, an unscrupulous lawyer and reckless 
adventurer, collected about 2,000 fighting men in Tuscany. 
On September 7, 1303, he appeared, at the head of this 
force, before Anagni, captured the town, and broke into the 
papal castle. Upon hearing of the successful attack by this 
brutal soldiery, the octogenarian pontiff, thinking that his 
end was nigh, decided to die as Pope. He ascended his 
throne, clad in full pontifical robes, the tiara on his head, 
the keys in one hand and a cross in the other, and thus 
awaited his enemies. Nogaret and Colonna heaped insults 
upon him, but probably did not inflict upon him, as has been 
asserted, personal violence. They held him prisoner for 
three days, apparently more embarrassed with their victim 



228 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

than resolved on carrying off the captive pontiff. On the 
third day the inhabitants of Anagni turned against the 
invaders, drove them from the city, and freed Boniface. 
He returned to Rome, where he was received in triumph. 
He was thus deHvered from all danger of physical violence, 
but his spirit was broken, and he died shortly after from the 
terrible shock he had received at Anagni (October 11, 1303). 
His enemies did not relent after his death, but imputed new 
crimes to him and endeavored to have him condemned by his 
successors. They succeeded, not indeed in having sentence 
pronounced against him, but in obtaining a declaration of 
innocence in favor of Philip the Fair and William of Nogaret. 

II. The Papal Residence at Avignon 
(1309-1377) 

240. Residence of the Popes at Avignon (1309-1377). — 
After the death of Boniface VIH, the papacy not only 
abandoned its resistance to the encroachments of the Frencn 
government, but fell almost immediately under the excessive 
influence of the French kings. Philip the Fair and his 
successors could the more easily exert their power on Church 
affairs as the papal residence was transferred at the beginning 
of the fourteenth century from Rome to France. This 
transfer was made by Pope Clement V (1305-1314). He 
was a native of the south of France, and was not present in 
Italy at his election. The cardinals who raised him to the 
throne of Peter at once forwarded to him an invitation to 
come to Rome for his coronation. Instead of acceding to 
their wishes he held the ceremony at Lyons amidst a grand 
display of splendor and magnificence. Clement V never 
saw Rome, and, after visiting several French cities, chose 
Avignon as his residence in 1309. With him opens that 
series of Popes who began and spent their pontificates on the 
foreign soil of France, and who never, with one exception, 
appeared in Rome. Avignon for nearly seventy years was 
the residence of Clement V and his six French successors. 



Europe in 1360. 




rcjv.^K. 



Reproduced from Shepherd's HistoricnJ Alias. 



THE PAPACY 229 

241. Results of the Papal Residence at Avignon.— This 

transfer of the papal administration to a foreign city was 
fraught with momentous consequences for Italy and the 
Church. The affairs and interests of a whole religious world, 
which up to then had had their centre in Rome, now took 
their course to a small and practically unknown town on the 
banks of the Rhone. Rome was deserted, and with Rome 
all Italy declined. The lawless elements alone flourished, 
and the extensive estates of the Roman Church passed into 
alien hands. Greater than the loss in land and property 
was the diminution in respect and confidence suffered by the 
bearers of the papal dignity. Till then no one had called 
the papacy Italian, in spite of its Roman capital and its 
Italian incumbents. Now it was declared French, and to 
many persons it seemed to have lost the character of a 
universal Christian institution. The Vicar of Christ ap- 
peared to be no longer the father of all Christians, but a 
French court bishop. Catholic interests undoubtedly suf- 
fered from this protracted absence of the Popes from Rome. 
The period has rightly been lamented as a sad exile and has 
been justly compared with the Babylonian captivity of 
the Jewish people. It came to an end when, on January 
17, 1377, Gregory XI, after a solemn entry into the Eternal 
City, took up his residence in Rome. 

III. The Great Schism of the West (1378-1417) 

242. Election of Pope Urban VI (1378)— Pope Gregory 
XI, who had transferred the papal residence from Avignon 
back to Rome, died shortly after his return to the Eternal 
City (1378) . As most of the members of the conclave which 
was to give him a successor were Frenchmen, it seemed, 
likely that a French ecclesiastic would be elected to the 
papacy. The Roman populace, hostile to such a choice, 
assembled outside the Vatican, the meeting place of the 
conclave, and demanded the election of a Roman or at 



230 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

least an Italian. Under this pressure the cardinals chose a 
native of Italy, but not of Rome, who took the name of 
Urban VI. They thus seemed to have acceded to the 
wishes of the Romans. The announcement that a suc- 
cessful election had been held was immediately made, but 
the name of the Pope-elect, who w^as not a cardinal and 
had not yet accepted the office, w^as withheld. Various 
rumors were inmediately circulated in the crowd regarding 
the identity of the new pontiff. Some claimed that the old 
cardinal of St. Peter's, a Roman, had been elected, while 
others contended that a foreigner, a Frenchman, had been 
chosen. In this uncertainty the agitation in the crowd 
soon became dangerous and its attitude threatening. Stones 
were hurled through the windows of the hall of the conclave 
and threats of death were pronounced. Then followed the 
forcible invasion of the palace by the mob, the wounding 
of some of the cardinals, and the looting of the building. 

One of the ecclesiastics present, fancying that the choice 
made for the papal office was not acceptable to the populace, 
invented, in order to pacify it, an expedient which stands 
alone in the history of papal elections. He falsely presented 
to the people the Cardinal of St. Peter's as the new Pope. 
The latter protested in vain against such a stratagem. He 
was forcibly placed on the papal throne, invested with the 
papal insignia, and a Te Deum was chanted in the midst of 
tumult. The cardinal, however, continued to protest that 
he was not the Pope and cried out the name of the successful 
candidate, which was finally heard by the crowd and proved 
acceptable. The cardinals, profiting by a favorable op- 
portunity amid the disorder and confusion of the day, had 
meanwhile effected their escape from the Vatican and from 
the danger of being apprehended by the mob. 

They subsequently paid homage to Urban VI and added 
to their election of him their practical recognition of his 
authority. They openly declared that he was the Pope of 
their choice, assisted at his solemn enthronement and corona- 



THE PAPACY 231 

tion, and for a few months asked favors of him. In spite of 
the difficulties and tumult attending his election he was 
evidently, according to their own dear, unmistakable pro- 
fessions and conduct, the lawful Pope whom they had 
given as indisputable head to the Christian Church. 

243. The Election of a Second Pope, Clement VII (1378). 
— Urban VI did not realize the hopes which the cardinals 
had reposed in him. They had raised him to the supreme 
pontificate because they considered him a foe of vice and 
ecclesiastical abuses, an exemplary pontiff, and a prudent 
administrator. Urban VI, however, as Pope revealed him- 
self a different character. He was indeed the foe of vice 
and abuses, but he was harsh, imprudent, and overbearing, 
and treated the cardinals with no tact and little respect. 
St. Catherine of Siena, who had welcomed his election, soon 
addressed to him the following words of pertinent and 
much needed advice: "Holy Father, 3^ou should be glad to 
find some one who helps you to see* and avoid such things 
as might lead to your discredit and the loss of souls : for the 
love of Jesus crucified, mitigate a little the sudden outbursts 
to which yotu- disposition gives rise; by all saintly \-irtues 
check your natural temper." 

Unfortunately the Pope profited but little by this respectful 
and well-meant admonition. The very appearance of the 
cardinals in his presence seemed at times to make him 
angry. Once, in addressing them on a solemn occasion, he 
began with the gentle and inviting words: "I am the good 
shepherd," but devoted all the rest of his sermon to a \-irulent 
attack on their life and conduct. The cardinal who had 
crowned him he treated publicly as a madman, and another 
member of the Sacred College, the very one who was to be- 
come his competitor for the supreme pontificate, he called 
a ribald person. Such treatment would have been borne 
with difficulty even by saints, and the cardinals did not all 
belong to this class. Strong opposition to Urban VI soon 
developed in their midst. Some of thorn, alleging ill health 



232 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

and the summer heat as excuses, left Rome and proceeded 
to Anagni. They soon agitated among themselves the 
question of the validity of Urban 's election. In an insulting 
letter addressed to the Pope they demanded of him more 
reasonable views, attributed his election to fear, declared 
him a usurper and summoned him to abdicate. In Sep- 
tember, 1378, thirteen of them — all Frenchmen — met at 
Fondi and proceeded to a new papal election. Their choice 
fell on one of their own mmiber, Robert of Geneva, who 
assumed the name of Clement VII. 

244. Division of the Christian World. — Although the 
election of Urban \T took place under \'ery unusual circtmi- 
stances, no good reason seemed to exist to doubt the validity 
of his election. The very cardinals who chose a new Pope 
had recognized this fact by their previous words and actions. 
But news travelled slowly at the time, and the Christian 
nations were but little_ informed of what had really taken 
place in Rome. As a consequence the second choice, Cle- 
ment VII, was recognized b}' several states as the lawful head 
of the universal Church. A double papacy was thus es- 
tablished, and Christendom was divided into two camps or 
obediences. Urban VI and his successors continued to 
reside in Rome, whereas Clement VII established his head- 
quarters at Avignon. The greater part of the Catholic 
world remained obedient to Urban VI; but France, Spain, 
Savoy, Scotland and some German states acknowledged the 
authority of Clement VII. As the two rival Popes not only 
maintained their respective positions, but also excom- 
municated each other and each other's followers, it came 
about that each part of the Catholic world was, in the es- 
timation of its rival, under sentence of excommtmication. 

245. Attempts to restore unity in the Church: the Council 
of Pisa (1409).— In this lamentable division the Catholic 
world lived in the hope that, at the death of one or the other 
of the two rival pontiffs, the schism would come to an end 



THE PAPACY 2v33 

by the omission of an unnecessary papal election and the 
general recognition of the surviving Pope. These consoling 
expectations were not to be realized, however. When Urban 
VI died in 1389 the Roman cardinals elected a successor and 
at Clement VII's death, a few years later, his supporters like- 
wise held a new election. As this natural means of putting 
an end to the discord among Christians proved futile, a 
second way out of the confusion was tried, namely, a General 
Council. The holding of a council as a means of healing the 
schism had been suggested from the very beginning by 
the University of Paris. This institution exerted at the 
time enormous influence throughout Christendom as 
the leading centre of ecclesiastical learning. As time went 
on and the schism continued, it insisted more and more on 
the necessity of holding a council to put an end to the division 
in the Church. Such an assembly met at the beginning of 
the fifteenth century. It was convoked by the cardinals 
of the two obediences and held at Pisa in 1409. The two 
reigning Popes were invited to attend, but they obstinately 
refused to have anything to do with the assembly. Instead of 
showing a spirit of conciliation in the interest of religious 
peace, they too convoked councils, each to a separate city. 
The Christian world thus beheld the strange spectacle of 
three so-called general councils being held at the same time. 
It was soon to be treated to the no less strange phenomenon 
of three "popes," one only of whom was the true successor of 
St. Peter, the other two usurpers, trying to govern the 
Church simult-aneously. For the council of Pisa, instead of 
improving matters, only made them worse. It pronounced 
the deposition of the two reigning Popes and elected a new 
one who called himself Alexander V. The sentence of 
deposition was entirely disregarded by those against whom 
it was issued, while the newly elected pontiff claimed the 
right to rule the Church. He was recognized by some coun- 
tries, and the council which had met to reduce the number of 



234 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the Popes from two to one in reality increased it to three. ^ 
246. The Council of Constance (1414-1418).— The coun- 
cil of Pisa was undoubtedly a miserable failure in so far as its 
immediate result was concerned: instead of restoring peace 
it increased the divisions. Its effects were, however, not all 
evil; it had the advantage of pointing the way to the rees- 
tablishment of unity. A General Council was to effect the 
complete suppression of the schism which the assembly at 
Pisa had in vain sought to heal. This new council was held 
at Constance, lasted for four years, and was summoned 
by the Pisan Pope John XXIII at the instance of the Emperor 
Sigismund. It had the advantage over the Pisan meeting of 
being convoked by a Pope, and not by the cardinals in defiance 
of the reigning pontiffs. John XXIII, in stimmoning it, 
reckoned on a general recognition of his rights to the tiara by 
the whole Christian world, and on the rejection of the 
claims of his two rivals. The sentiment among the members 
of the council at first seemed to favor this solution, but soon 
the opinion gained ground that all three Popes should 
resign or be deposed and a new one elected. Even the 
presence of a large number of Italian bishops, whom John had 
brought to the council and upon whom he relied for a vote 
favorable to himself, did not have the intended effect, for 
the council decided to discard the system of individual 
voting and to adopt the vote by nation. The small number 
of English prelates present had thus equal weight with -the 
numerous Italians. The distrust of John XXIII was soon 
very apparent in the council. Conscious of this fact, he 
^ The Popes of the three obediences were: 
A. Rome B. Avignon 

Urban VI (1378-1389). Clement VII (1378-1394). 

Boniface IX (1389-1404). Benedict XIII (1394-1422-3). 

Innocent VII (1404-1406). Clement VIII (1424-1429). 

Gregory XII (1406-1415). Benedict XIV (1424-?). 

C. Pisa 

Alexander V (1409-10). 

John XXIII (1410-1415). 

D. Ending the schism: Martin V (1417-1431). 



THE PAPACY 2.iS 

twice declared his readiness to abdicate on condition that 
his opponents did likewise. But even after these declara- 
tions, his position was not an easy one amidst the national 
jealousies and the virulent discussions which stirred the coun- 
cil. His relations with the Emperor Sigismund seemed to 
become more and more strained and, to escape from such 
unpleasant surroundings, John XXIII fled in disguise from 
Constance (March 20, 1415). The news of his secret de- 
parture caused consternation for a brief space of time. The 
excitement soon subsided, however, and the council decided 
to proceed with its work without the fugitive Pope. It pro- 
nounced the latter's deposition, and he vSubmitted willingly 
to the sentence when he saw that his cause was lost. Shortly 
after the council had thus eliminated John XXIII, Gregory 
XII, the third successor of Urban, reconvoked it and recog- 
nized it as lawful. This was done in the fourteenth session 
(July 4, 1415), and from this time on many writers consider 
the assembly at Constance a legitimate general council. 
After he had performed the act of recon vocation, Gregory 
XII freely offered by proxy his resignation, which was imme- 
diately accepted by the council. The famous Benedict XIII 
thus remained alone in possession of the tiara. To obtain his 
abdication the Emperor Sigismund proceeded personally to 
southern France for an interview with the aged pontiff. 
The interview led to no results, Benedict rejecting the request 
for abdication. The Spaniards, however, who up to this time 
had recognized and obeyed his authority, now forsook him 
and, joining the Italians, the French, the English and the 
Germans, formed the fifth nation in the council of Constance. 
The assembly forthwith began proceedings against Benedict 
and pronounced his deposition (July 26, 1417). The obsti- 
nate old man did not submit, although his obedience com- 
prised finally only about 2,000 souls. Undisturl)ed by the 
small number of his adherents he declared that as all man- 
kind was in the ark with Noah, so all the Church was with 
him on the rock of Peniscola in Spain where he resided. The 



236 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

council, after Benedict had been deposed, proceeded to a 
new election, and on November 11, 1417, a Pope was chosen, 
who, in honor of the Saint of the day, took the name of Martin 
V (1417-1431). The principal task of the council, the 
restoration of unity, was thus accomplished. Amidst the 
universal joy of Christendom, Martin V was recognized as the 
only and lawful head of the Catholic world. It was of no 
moment that Benedict XIII continued the schism. His few 
followers formed a negligible quantity among the millions of 
a reunited Catholic Church. 

Bibliography 

Kitts, E. J., In the Days of the Councils. (Constable, London, 1908.) 
Idem, Pope John XXIII and Master John Hus. {Ibid., 1910.) 
Salembier, L., The Great Schism of the West. (Benziger, New York, 

1907.) 
Tosti-Dpnnelly, Pope Boniface VIII and His Times. (Christian Press 

Association, New York, 1911.) 
Wiseman, N., Pope Boniface VIII, in Dublin Review, 1844, reprinted in 

Historical Essays. 

Historical Novel 

Ayscough, J., San Celestino. (Putnam, New York, 1909.) 



CHAPTER XIX 
FRANCE DURING AND AFTER THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 

I. Name, Causes and Division of the Hundred 
Years' War (1337-1453); Its First Period 

(1337-1380) 

247. Name and Causes of the War. — The Hundred Years' 
War designates that period of rivalry and conflict between 
France and England which extends from 1337 to 1453. The 
term, although generally accepted in history, is not mathe- 
matically accurate, whether the time which it covers be con- 
sidered or the duration of the actual fighting be taken into 
account. The war was interrupted by many truces: peace, 
either real or apparent, reigned for sixty-one years, while 
fighting was carried on during no more than fifty-five. 

The protracted conflict originated from feudal, commer- 
cial, and dynastic causes. The abnormal situation of a 
king numbering among his vassals another king, frequently 
more powerful than himself, had already caused serious 
trouble for two centuries between the French overlords 
and their royal English vassals. To the antagonism arising 
naturally from these feudal relations were added, shortly 
before the Hundred Years' War, the complications of a 
dynastic quarrel between two pretenders to the throne of 
Scotland in which France supported one candidate and 
England another. As they were opposed in Scotland, so 
also did the two countries come into conflict in Flanders. The 
French kings supported the Counts of Flanders, their vassals, 
whilst the English rulers formed an alliance with the Flemish 
people, who were aspiring after political independence. The 
prosperous Flemings had in their hands the monopoly of the 
cloth manufacture in Europe. But they depended for the 

237 



238 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

very existence of this industry on the importation of En^^Hsh 
wool, and, to secure this essential article, they supported 
Edward Ill's claim to the French throne. 

The controversy regarding the succession began in France 
in 1328 when the Capetian dynasty became extinct in the 
male line. Philip the Fair (d. 1314) had been followed in 
rapid succession, on the throne, by his three sons. The first 
two of these had indeed left daughters, but the women were 
set aside and the government handed over on each occasion 
to a brother of the former ruler. When in 1328 the throne 
again became vacant, an assembly of the nobility declared 
that "no woman had any right to the French crown nor could 
she transmit any such right to her descendants." This ex- 
clusion of women from the succession was later called the 
"Salic Law.'' It annulled any claims that King Edward III 
of England, a grandson of Philip the Fair on his mother's 
side, might have advanced to the French throne. A collat- 
eral line of the Capetian dynasty, the House of Valois, was 
called to rule over France in the person of Philip VI (1328- 
1350). 

248. Edward III claims the French Throne; the Two 
Periods of the War. — Philip VI was crowned King of France 
on May 29, 1328, and summoned Edward III to render 
homage for his continental estates. The English king, after 
a slight delay, heeded the summons and acknowledged the 
authority of his overlord, first with reservations, and then 
absolutely and without restrictions (1331). He was not to 
abide, however, by these declarations. In 1337 he repu- 
diated the authority of his suzerain and laid claim to Philip's 
crown. The result was the Hundred Years' War, which may 
be divided into two periods: the first extending from 1337 to 
1380, and the second from 1380 to 1453. During the first 
period, France, after suffering disasters so terrible that they 
brought her to the very brink of ruin, recovered nearly all the 
possessions held by the English. During the second, she 
seemed to be doomed, after crushing reverses, to certain 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED VEARs' WAR 239 

destruction when the appearance of Joan of Arc chanj^^cfl the 
whole situation and decided the contest in her fax-or. 

249. Comparative Military Status of the Two Countries.— 
The remarkable successes won by the lilnj^lisii durin*,^ the war 
were due largely to their superior military organization. 
Edward III had introduced in England universal compulsory 
military training. The war was fought by the English na- 
tion, whereas on the French side it was merely waged by a 
class. He had also discarded the antiquated methods of 
medieval warfare and organized an efficient, w^ell disciplined 
fighting force. In peace time he had frowned on the ridicu- 
lous tournaments and insisted on the practise of marksman- 
ship. The result was that the English bowmen were excel- 
lent shots and rendered remarkable services during the war. 
Less conspicuous were the successes won by the cavalry, 
which occupied only a subordinate position in the army. The 
main body anid principal source of strength of the English 
troops was the infantry, which formed about four-fifths of 
the eiTectives. Edward III had thus admirably adapted the 
military establishment to the new needs of the time. No such 
transformation and progress had taken place in the French 
army, in which the recruiting was uncertain, the training 
ridiculous, the discipline loose, and the class spirit most pro- 
nounced. The nobility aimed at the exclusion of the other 
classes from the service, continued to fight on horseback, and 
show^ed nothing but contempt for the infantry. It still 
placed its sole reliance in individual bravery, and neglected 
training and organization. It was conspicuous by its con- 
tempt of death and briUiant feats of arms, but failed to grasp 
.the necessity of exercizing prudence and of obtaining practi- 
cal results. The fact that, despite these numerous and 
glaring disadvantages, France was eventually successful in 
both periods of the war finds its explanation in a change of 
tactics toward the end of the first and the appearance of Joan 
of Arc during the second period. 

250. The Battle of Crecy (1346).— The first important 



240 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

action of the war was a naval battle fought off Sluys in 
Flanders. It ended in the destruction of the French fleet 
and was a complete English triumph (1340) . All danger of the 
war being carried into England was thus averted and safe 
communication established between that country and 
Flanders. 

No great battle was fought on land until some years later. 
In 1346 an English army of considerable strength successfully 
effected a landing in Normandy. It advanced toward Paris, 
plundering as it went. As the approach to the capital was 
barred by the troops of Philip VI, it changed its course and 
went northward toward Calais. The French followed it in 
pursuit and seemed to have cut off its retreat, shutting it in 
between the Somme River and the sea. Edward III , however, 
extricated himself by crossing the Somme unnoticed by the 
French. A little to the north of the river, he encamped with 
his army on a gently sloping hill, and, in this favorable posi- 
tion, awaited the attack of the enemy. The French came up 
to the English positions on Saturday, August 26, 1346, after 
a fatiguing march. Their command decided to postpone the 
attack to the following day, but the impetuous and ill-dis- 
ciplined ardor of the nobility forced an immediate combat. 
The battle was no sooner begun than the greatest confusion 
took place in their ranks and brought about their decisive 
defeat in a few hours. Their losses were of the heaviest, and 
included 11 princes, 80 barons, 1,200 knights, and 15,000 
squires or footmen killed. Among the dead was John of 
Luxemburg, the blind King of Bohemia and father-in-law of 
Philip VI. After this success, the first of the three great 
English victories of the Hundred Years' War, Edward III 
resumed his march toward Calais:. 

251. The Siege, Capture, and New Settlement of Calais 
(1347). — Calais, owing to its harbor and its proximity to 
England, was of inestimable value to Edward III. He laid 
siege to it with the firm determination of persevering until its 
surrender. Prepared for a protracted resistance from its 



France; the hundred years' war 241 

inhabitants, he built, for the housing and accommodation of 
his troops, a second town near the original Calais. The 
commander of the fortress, just as firmly resolved on defense 
as Edward was on capture, ordered away the women and 
children and appealed to the French king for help. The 
latter hoped that successful military undertakings by the 
Scots, who were also at war wath the English, might produce a 
diversion and force Edw^ard III to abandorr the siege. But 
the Scots lost the battle of Neville's Cross (October 17, 1346), 
and Edward's position was more favorable than ever. He 
pressed the siege with vigor and, as Philip VI, in spite of 
serious preparations for war, never advanced far enough to 
get in contact with the English army, the fate of Calais was 
sealed. When its defenders were reduced by famine to the 
last extremity, the English king summoned them to surrender 
at discretion. He consented, how^ever, in the subsequent 
negotiations, to spare the population, if six of the citizens 
were handed over to him to be dealt with at his plea.sure. This 
concession saved all the inhabitants. Six prominent citizens 
proceeded to his camp, barefooted, each with a rope around 
his neck, and clad only in their shirts, ready to sacrifice their 
lives to save those of others. It seemed at first as if the king 
would punish them unmercifully, but at the queen's inter- 
cession he relented and spared their lives, as well as those of 
the rest of the population. All the inhabitants, however, 
with the exception of twenty-two, were expelled and replaced 
by English settlers, Calais thus became, and for over two 
centuries remained, not only an English possession, but an 
English town. 

252. Acquisition of Dauphine by France (1349); Battle of 
Poitiers (1356). — The loss of Calais was a heavy blow to the 
French cause, but Philip VI, unfortunate in war, was very 
successful in negotiations elsewhere. During his reign 
Dauphine, a part of the former Kingdom of Aries, was incor- 
porated into the French dominions. It was definitively 
acquired by purchase in 1349, and the name of Dauphin, by 



242 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

which its rulers were known, was bestowed on the eldest son 
of the French kings. The territorial losses sustained in the 
war were not retrieved under Philip VI. The capitulation of 
Calais was followed by a lull in the fighting, during which 
both sides prepared for a renewal of hostilities. During 
this interval Philip VI died (1350), and was succeeded 
by his son, John the Good (1350-1364). The young king 
was endowed with excellent qualities, but had an uncontroll- 
able temper, was swayed by inordinate affections, and was, 
above all, unfortunate as a ruler. The most important 
event with which he was identified in the war was the battle 
of Poitiers (1356). Edward, Prince of Wales, known as 
the "Black Prince" because of the color of his armor, was in 
command of the English forces in the south of France. He 
had won his spurs at Crecy and possessed remarkable mili- 
tary ability, but was not to live long enough to prove his 
talent as a statesman in ruling over England. His head- 
quarters were at Bordeaux, where he held brilliant court 
without forgetting his military duties. In 1356 he marched 
northward with his troops, ravaging the provinces through 
which he passed. The French army, under its king, John, 
advanced to meet him, overtook him in retreat, and attacked 
him near Poitiers. The prince had taken up a good defensive 
position, but was forced to fight when outnumbered at least 
four to one by the enemy. The battle seemed to be decided in 
favor of the French before it was fought. The same ele- 
ments, however, which settled the issue at Crecy proved 
decisive also at Poitiers. Unity of leadership and ably 
directed fighting again won over the reckless daring and 
independent efforts of individual commanders. The losses 
were indeed more evenly divided between the two sides, but 
the final result was the same as at Crecy — a French defeat. 
King John himself, after offering heroic resistance, was made 
prisoner and taken to London. 

253. Treaty of Bretigny (1360); the Free Companies.— 
The French king was treated with distinguished courtesy by 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED YEARs' WAR 243 

his captors, but naturally desired to conclude peace and to 
obtain his freedom. A treaty was drawn up in London, but 
never signed, because its conditions were found unacceptable 
by the French nation. Peace was to be concluded somewhat 
later at Bretigny near Paris (1360). The treaty stipulated: 
(1) The renunciation of all suzerain rights by the French 
Crown over the territories of southwestern France; (2) the 
cession to England of Calais and extensive territory to the 
south; (3) the renunciation by Edward III of all claims to 
the French throne; (4) the payment of a ransom of three 
million gold crowns for the release of King John. 

The conditions of this treaty, with the exception of the 
last mentioned, were observed until the renewal of the war. 
In accordance with the agreement concerning the king's 
person, John was released from captivity and returned to 
France. However, as the stipulated sum could not be 
raised, he voluntarily returned as a prisoner to London, 
where he died a few months later (1364). 

The treaty of Bretigny for a time put an end to the war with 
England, but in reality did not bring peace to France. So- 
called Free Companies continued to plunder and ravage the 
country, to terrify and kill the inhabitants. These cosmopoli- 
tan bodies were composed of professional fighting men who, 
after the cessation of hostilities, were without occupation and 
unwilling to engage in any other business but warfare. As 
long as war was in progress they hired their services to the 
highest bidder; when peace was declared they supported 
themselves by pillage and exactions in peaceful districts. 
They now spread ruin and desolation in France until their 
welcome departure for Spain. 

254. King Charles V (1364-1380); Most of the English 
Continental Possessions reconquered by France.— King 
John the Good was succeeded on the throne by Charles V, 
whom posterity has appropriately surnamed the Wise. Un- 
like his two predecessors, he was rather a calculating politi- 
cian than a brilliant knight. The sight of the burning vil- 



244 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

lages set on fire l^y the English merely elicited from him the 
remark: "All this smoke will not drive me from my king- 
dom." He used the years following the treaty of Bretigny 
to prepare for a renewal of the conflict. When hostilities 
recommenced in 1369, the country was ready for defense, and 
the king had decided on a new plan of resistance. France 
had found out by bitter experience how fatal battles fought 
in the open and on a large scale were likely to be for her. 
Charles V, profiting by the lesson, relied on different tactics 
for success. He fortified the towns, garrisoned them with 
numerous troops, and issued orders to his generals to avoid, 
under all circumstances, pitched battles with the enemy. The 
English forces, in this new method of warfare, were to be 
worn down by long and useless marches, lack of supplies, dis- 
ease, and discouragement, while their stragglers and isolated 
detachments were to be harassed and cut off by French raid- 
ing parties. For the execution of this plan, the king chose 
the famous Bertrand Du Guesclin, a man admirably suited 
for the task. A poverty-stricken nobleman of Brittany, of 
most unprepossessing appearance, he had, however, demon- 
strated his military capacity both in his native province and 
in Spain. The aim in fighting, in his eyes, was to destroy 
the enemy and not to perform brilliant feats of valor. With- 
out gaining brilliant victories he rendered excellent services 
to the French cause and reconquered town after town from the 
English. The inhabitants of Aquitaine, groaning under 
heavy taxation, welcomed the French as deliverers and facili- 
tated the task of the military forces. Year after year brought 
new French successes, and at the end of Charles V's reign 
almost all France had been recovered from the English. The 
first period of the war thus closed with the advantage on the 
French side. 

11. The Hundred Years' War, from 1380 to 1453 

255. Conditions in France from 1380 to 1415.— The war 
with England was still in progress when Charles V died in 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED YEARs' WAR 245 

1380. It was, however, pushed with vigor by neither side 
after his death, and a period of comparative inactivity fol- 
lowed for thirty-five years. Nevertheless, the great advan- 
tages gained by France under the late monarch were again 
completely lost. Charles V was succeeded by his son, Charles 
VI (1380-1422), who was only twelve years old when he 
ascended the throne. The ceremony of his coronation w^as 
held at Rheims and followed by extravagant and ruinous 
festivities. Despite the coronation the government was 
exercized not by the boy king, but by four royal princes, 
three of them brothers and one a brother-in-law of Charles 
V. Wanton and frivolous, they spent the public funds for 
their own pleasures and amusements without regard to the 
welfare of the state and nation. Their maladministration 
lasted until 1388, when the king assumed personal charge of 
affairs. He introduced at once some excellent measures, 
demonstrated his knowledge of the general needs, and gave 
practical proof of his care for the public weal. Unfortu- 
nately he became a victim of chronic insanity four years later 
and remained subject to the disease until his death in 1422. 
As he had frequent lucid intervals he retained his royal power, 
but could give the realm no consistent administration. 
Under these circumstances, the state of France, which was 
suffering at the same time from internal and external war, 
was one of unparalleled disorder and indescribable misery. 
Two parties relentlessly disputed the power in the kingdom : 
the Burgundians and the Armagnacs. The former had at 
their head the king's cousin, the Duke of Burgundy, after 
whom they have been named. The latter formed the party 
of the king's brother, the Duke of Orleans, and derived their 
name from the Duke of Armagnac, who w^as their principal 
leader. Although opposed to the king as long as he was in 
the hands of their opponents, the Armagnacs, after a while, 
became and remained the royal or national party, while 
the Burgundians intrigued and allied themselves with the 
English against France. The resolute opposition between 



246 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

the two factions led to civil strife ; but the war, as long as it 
was confined to them, was neither protracted nor hard fought. 
It came to an end or, rather, was merged in the greater war 
with England in 1415. The Armagnacs were at the time 
masters of the king and of the capital. 

256. The Battle of Agincourt (1415).— England had, like 
France, suffered from internal troubles at the end of the 
fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century and 
had not been free to pursue a firm policy in foreign affairs. 
This situation changed with the accession of King Henry V 
in 1413. Young and resolute, he imposed his rule at home 
and asserted his putative rights to the French throne. He 
publicly declared his claims, however, only in 1415 after 
completing his military preparations for an attack against 
a divided and helpless France. His declarations were im- 
mediately backed up by an army of some 60,000 men which 
he landed in Normandy at the mouth of the Seine. Through 
a secret treaty, which he concluded before the debarkation 
was effected, he had secured the neutrality of the Burgundians 
in the conflict. The Armagnacs, however, showed the 
greater ardor to defend the country and earn a title to its 
gratitude. They rose 100,000 strong against the invader 
and tried to bar his road to Calais and to destroy him. 
That race of the English northward with the French in hot 
pursuit which preceded Crecy was now repeated with the 
same result — a battle was fought before Calais was reached. 
The two armies met at Agincourt in 1415 and the English 
archers, whose arrows wrought deadly havoc in the dense 
and confused masses of their opponents, again decided the 
day against France. The French left 10,000 men killed on 
the battlefield. The leader of the Burgundians was still 
neutral; the official head of the Armagnacs, the Duke of 
Orleans, was among the prisoners, and, as a result, the 
kingdom was at the mercy of the English. They made con- 
quests chiefly in Normandy and carried on negotiations, in 
which they hoped to reap further advantages, with both 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED VEARs' WAR 247 

French factions, the Armagnacs and the BurKundians. 
In 1420 they concluded with the latter the famous treaty of 
Troyes, which made of France nothin<jj more than an English 
province. It stipulated peace and marriage: Henry V of 
England married Catherine, the daughter of Charles VI, 
and was recognized as regent and heir-apparent of France. 
After the wedding he made his solemn entry into Paris and 
was acknowdedged as master and ruler by the States General. 
In 1421 he returned to England, having united, as it were, 
two kingdoms under one king. Both Charles VI and he 
died the following year. 

257. Accession of Charles VII (1422); Conditions in 
France. — The death of Henry V and Charles VI was at- 
tended by a profound change in the political situation. 
The English king was succeeded by a ten-months-old child, 
Henry VI, for whom the Duke of Burgundy declined to 
exercize the regency in France. This office fell, as a con- 
sequence, to the boy's uncle, the Duke of Bedford. But 
English rule was recognized in France only where it could be 
enforced. Charles VI had left a son who laid claim to the 
succession of his father's dominions. He assumed the royal 
title and dignity at Bourges and called himself Charles VII. 
Pietistic and irresolute, he was governed more by impressions 
than by steady judgment. At his accession Englishmen 
and Burgundians controlled most of France, including the 
capital, and his own dominions were very restricted. They 
were formed especially by the territories around the city of 
Bourges, in which Charles VII frequently resided and from 
which he w^as dubbed King of Bourges. As he had not been 
crowned at Rheims, he was also styled the Dauphin. Despite 
this position of inferiority and the caustic remarks of which 
he was the target, he was nevertheless a power in France, 
because he was a national sovereign, a French king born in 
France. It was to this fact that he owed the strength which 
enabled him to contest the possession of the kingdom with 
the enemy from 1422 until extraordinary help came in 1429. 



248 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Everything seemed to be hopelessly lost, however, toward 
the end of 1428. An English army had landed at Calais, 
had proceeded to the south of Paris, and had laid siege to 
the important fortress of Orleans, which afforded indispen- 
sable protection to the territories still held by Charles VII. 
The king, in face of the desperate situation, lost courage and 
began preparations for a flight to Scotland. It was then that 
Joan of Arc appeared and saved France. 

258. Joan of Arc (1412-1431); Her Character and Mis- 
sion.— Joan of Arc, surnamed the "Maid of Orleans," was 
born on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1412, at Dom- 
remy in eastern France. In spite of the presence of English- 
men and Burgundians in the neighboring districts, the in- 
habitants of her native village had remained intensely loyal 
to the French king. Her parents, though of humble station, 
lived in comfortable circumstances and, besides the plain 
stone cottage in which Joan was born, owned some property 
at Domremy. Joan grew up, as it were, under the shadow of 
the parish church, was assiduous in prayer, frequently re- 
ceived the sacraments of penance and the Blessed Eucharist, 
and was fond of going on pilgrimages to the neighboring 
shrines. She was modest in her bearing, tall and strong for 
her sex, possessed a sweet feminine voice,x and exercized 
unusual charm in her intercourse with others. J'^he was lead- 
ing the simple life of a country girl when in 1425 she was 
favored with apparitions from heavenly messengers. She 
heard the "voices" of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. 
Margaret telling her of the pitiable condition of France, and 
of her mission to deliver the realm from its oppressors. 
For three years she heard these loved voices. As time went 
on they became more insistent; tvv^o or three times a week 
they repeated that she must go to France so that France 
might be saved by her. Obedient to the call she was led by 
a cousin to Robert B^uckicourt, the royal military com- 
mander at Vaucouleursi (She announced to him the ap- 
proaching deliverance of the realm and revealed how, by 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED YEARs' WAR 249 

the will of the Heavenly King, she was soon to lead the King 

of France to be crowned at Rheims. He sent her away with 

harsh words and the added advice; to her cousin to take her 

to her father for a good whipping J Joan, however, had no 

rest even after this first rebuff aiid soon appeared on a 

second visit to Vaucouleurs. On this occasion she spoke with 

such deterpiination and conviction that she was listened to 

favorably, j The inhabitants of the town raised the necessarv 

/i 
money to buy her military equipment, and, after much 

hesitation, Baudricourt sent her forward, accompanied by 
six men-at-arms, on the night of February 25, 1429. It was 
the time when the plight of Orleans, hard pressed by the 
English besiegers, filled the whole kingdom with anguish. 
The little band, headed by the young girl of seventeen, 
proceeded towards the king's court at Chinon and traversed 
in eleven days, without mishap, 150 leagues of country in- 
fected everywhere by enemy bands. , 

((upon her arrival at the royal c6urt, Joan asked for an 
audience with the king, who consented to receive her. To 
test her alleged divine mission she was introduced into 
his presence when he mingled, in simple attire, with the 
courtiers. She instantly recognized him, spoke to him 
privately, and revealed to him certain secrets. Charles 
Vn treated her, with honor, lodged her, and received her 
frequently. She repeatedly stated to him the twofold mission 
she had received from God : to raise the siege of Orleans and 
to effect his coronation. Her claim was ignored in fact, 
however, until she had been subjected to a searching examina- 
tion by competent bishops and divines. Having emerged 
successfully from the test, she ^as given command of the 
king's army on March 22, 1429)' Before beginning military 
operations, she summoned the English to conform to the 
wishes of Heaven and to abandon the siege of Orleans. 
The English commanders flew into a rage and treated the 
demand as a piece of unheard-of impudence. On Ai)ril 
27 following, Joan, amidst the singing of h\Tnns, set her 



250 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

troops in motion and advanced to the relief of the city. 
The dehverance of France, undertaken and .achieved by a 
simple and inexperienced maiden, had begun ^ 

259. Deliverance of Orleans, May 8, 1429. — Orleans, 
though besieged, was not completely surrounded by English 
troops. Nevertheless the sufferings from hardships and 
privations constantly increased, and the inhabitants were 
on the verge of losing all hope of relief. On April 30, 1429, 
Joan of Arc succeeded in entering the place, but the main 
body of her troops appeared before it only on the fourth of 
May. In the meantime she inspired new confidence in the 
defenders, and the attack on the forts built by the English 
around the city was launched on the very day of her army's 
arrival. 

Before the sun set on that fourth of May one of the English 
forts had been captured and, on the following day, another 
was stormed and occupied. New attacks were made on the 
seventh. In one of these Joan was wounded on the shoulder 
by an arrow, but continued the fight, spurred on her troops 
to new efforts, and was victorious everywhere. These rapid 
successes were so decisive that the English were forced to 
raise the siege. On May 8, 1429, they began their retreat, 
while the bells ringing from the church steeples of Orleans 
voiced the gladness of the inhabitants and announced to 
the world the city's deliverance. 

260. The Coronation at Rheims (July 17, 1429).— After 
the capture of Orleans, Joan insisted on the king's immediate 
coronation at Rheims. Her voices pleaded that the ceremony 
be performed at once. Some of the king's counsellors, 
however, opposing the plan, caused considerable delay in 
this instance, and were to hamper seriously, on many oc- 
casions, by their jealous intrigues the self-sacrificing work 
of the heroic Maid. While they were engaged in thwarting 
her efforts, she won a brilliant victory at Patay (June 18, 
1429) over the famous English commander Sir John Talbot, 
and thus furnished additional proof of her ability to overcome 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED VICARs' WAR 251 

the enemy and to protect the kin^. As Charles VII still 
hesitated even after this success, she left alone for Rheims 
on June 27. Two days later, the king, overcoming his 
constitutional irresoluteness and outside interference, de- 
cided to follow her. The journey was made successfully 
through a country infested by Englishmen and Btirgundians, 
and, on July 16, the king entered Rheims in triumph. The 
solemn act of the royal coronation took place in the cathedral 
on the following day, and, during its performance, Joan of 
Arc stood near the king, clad in her armor and holding in her 
hand the banner which she had ever kept near her since she 
had taken up arms in defense of the royal cause. The Maid 
was now hailed as a divine envoy and deliverer throughout 
France. She was looked upon as a miracle-worker and 
venerated as a Saint. She was ennobled by the king and 
surrounded by all the state and magnificence of a princess. 
But, amidst these honors, she remained simple, pious, and 
modest, full of kindliness for the lowly and charity to the 
poor. 

261. Joan is captured at Compiegne (May 23, 1430). — 
Once his coronation at Rheims had added prestige to the 
king's authority, a vigorous prosecution of the war suggested 
itself as the best course, with Paris as the logical point of 
attack. Joan ardently desired an immediate continuation 
of the campaign, but time was allowed to elapse and no 
attack on the capital was undertaken until September. 
She again led in it, was wounded, and had to be dragged by 
force from the fight. The struggle proved indecisive and 
was followed by another delay which lasted for eight months 
and was due to the selfish intrigues of jealous courtiers. 
When the intelligence reached the Maid that the enemy was 
laying siege to Compiegne she could no longer be restrained 
and flew to the relief of that place. It was to be her last 
appearance on the battlefield. In an encounter with the 
enemy on May 23 she was thrown from her horse and made 
prisoner. At first held by John of Luxemburg, the Burgim- 



252 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

dian leader, she was sold by him to the English for the sum 
of 1 10,000 dollars and taken to Rouen. 

262. The Trial of Joan of Arc. — At Rouen began for 
Joan that long drawn out martyrdom which was to last for 
five months, from December 28, 1430, the date of her arrival, 
to May 30, 1431, the date of her execution. She was not 
only held as a prisoner, but was enclosed in a cage with a 
chain around her neck, irons on her feet, and under the guard 
of dissolute soldiers. Even captivity so severe did not dispel 
the superstitious terror in which she was held by the English; 
her death alone could reassure them, and this was resolved 
upon. As they could not execute her for defeating them, 
they trumped up charges of heresy and witchcraft against 
her. The mock trial which followed was used to torture, 
disgrace, and dishonor the defenseless maiden before deliver- 
ing her up to the executioner. As she was accused of religious 
offenses, she was tried in an ecclesiastical court, although 
she continued to be illegally detained in a secular prison. 
Peter Cauchon, the unscrupulous Bishop of Bauvais, pre- 
sided at the sessions and was the most infamous of her judges. 
She appeared in court for the first time on February 20, 
1431. From this date onward frequent sessions were held, 
lasting at times for three hours in the morning and as many 
in the afternoon. The aim of the tribunal was not to find 
out the truth, but to secure a conviction. It was imputed 
to the accused as a crime that she had left her home, taken 
part in battles, and worn male apparel. The apparitions 
she had seen and the voices she had heard were topics on 
which the judges plied her with inane and vexatious questions. 
While she always observed the greatest reserve in speaking of 
these extraordinary heavenly favors, her answers on other 
subjects were characterized by simplicity, frankness, and 
independence. But the proceedings were drawing to a close 
before any confession of guilt could be wrung from her. 
Condemnation was, nevertheless, to be pronounced, and a 
stake was erected in a local cemetery where Joan was to 




Joan of Arc — Chatillon 



FRANCE: THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 253 

hear her fate. Brought here on May 23, she was called ujx)!! 
for the last time to retract, and Cauchon began immediately 
to read the sentence. Under such terrifying circumstances 
her courage failed her. Worn out by a year's captivity and 
by the inhuman methods of implacable judges, she yielded 
and declared that she preferred retractation to the stake. 
She was immediately made to sign an abjuration, the exact 
tenor of which is not known, and instead of a sentence of 
death, a condemnation to perpetual imprisonment was 
pronounced against her. 

But nothing short of execution would satisfy the English, 
and they found, of course, a pretext for it. One of her 
offenses, in the eyes of her judges, had been the wearing of 
male attire. After her abjuration she resumed it, either to 
protect her modesty from dissolute jailers or because her 
female apparel was taken from her. It was enough for her 
enemies to accuse her of having relapsed into heresy and to 
reopen the trial. On May 29, 1431, she was examined for 
the last time. Conscious of her innocence, as of old, and 
animated with the same courage, she appeared before her 
judges and retracted her abjuration. But no defense, how- 
ever sincere or touching, was of any avail; she was unani- 
mously pronounced a relapsed heretic by a tribunal of 
thirty-seven judges and, as such, was condemned to be given 
to the flames. 

263. The Execution of Joan of Arc (May 30, 1431); Her 
Beatification (April 11, 1909).— On May 30, 1431, Joan of 
Arc was led to the stake erected on the marlcet-place at 
Rouen. When the news of her impending death was an- 
nounced to her in prison, she was overcome by grief at the 
thought of her tender youth and of the excruciating and 
undeserved torments in the flames. Accompanied by a 
Dominican friar, she left on a cart at nine o'clock in the 
morning for the place of execution. At the stake she 
courageously declared once more, in the presence of the 
exasperated English, that her visions were genuine and from 



254 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

God. vShe then kissed the Cross and asked that it be held 
before her in this supreme hour of death. She prayed to the 
Saints who had summoned her from her home, and expired in 
pronouncing sweetly the Holy Name of Jesus. The English 
collected her ashes and threw them into the Seine. 

Charles VII, who had accepted her services and profited by 
her self-sacrificing devotion, abandoned her shamefully in 
her time of trial. He took no measures and spoke no word 
in her defense. The infamy which attaches to public 
criminals was, however, not to stain her name forever. As 
early as twenty years after her death a revision of her trial 
was undertaken and resulted in the admission of her inno- 
cence and the recognition of her unjust condemnation. 
Since then the passing years have steadily increased the 
honor and esteem in which she so rightly deserves to be held, 
and the Catholic Church has recently placed her among the 
Blessed (April 11, 1909). As St. Louis among men, so Joan 
of Arc is among women the purest and noblest figure in 
French national history. 

264. End of the Hundred Years' War (1453); Its Results 
for France. — At the time of Joan of Arc's death vast French 
territories still remained in English hands, and the reconquest 
of the country had only begun. But the confidence she had 
inspired and the memory of her valorous deeds were to sus- 
tain and encourage the French armies until their success 
was complete. The ease with which the early victories had 
been won dispelled even the king's doubts and misgivings. 
The military leaders showed unyielding determination and 
were never disheartened by temporary setbacks. The 
Burgundians, too prudent to remain identified with a losing 
cause, made their peace with the king in 1435. This brought 
the civil war to an end and united France against the foreigner. 
Paris, no longer in sympathy with the English, was entered 
in 1436. Further conquests were made, first in Normandy, 
where the English were disliked, and then, with greater 
difficulty, in the south, where popular sentiment was on their 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 255 

side. In 1453 the city of Bordeaux, intensely Iinj^^lish in its 
s\Tnpathies, capitulated, and the Hundred Years' War was 
at an end. Of their extensive French dominions Calais 
alone remained in possession of the English. France had 
undergone frightful devastation and suffered untold misery, 
but bought at that price her political independence and 
national unit}^ 

III. France after the Hundred Years' War 

(1453-1517) 

265. France and Burgundy. — Shortly after the conclusion 
of the Hundred Years' War, France was involved in a new 
conflict with England's former allies, the Burgundians. 
The fundamental cause of this war must be sought in the 
rise of a netv feudalism in France. The practise of the kings 
of conferring, in order to strengthen their own power, large 
estates on their younger sons had for its natural result the 
creation of a new class of powerful vassals. Relationship 
was in this new order a guarantee of loyalty ; but as years and 
even centuries elapsed, the kinship between king and lord 
became more a memory than a reality. The vassals fre- 
quently acted as independent potentates, showed little 
respect for the royal authority, and less care for its interests. 
Four great houses of royal origin exercized political ]jower in 
fifteenth-century France. They were: the House of Anjou, 
that of Bourbon, that of Orleans and, the most powerful 
among them, the House of Burgundy. It was against the 
last named that the kings had to struggle after the protracted 
war with England. The Dukes of Burgundy were the rulers 
of two distinct and powerful states: one. Burgundy proper, 
to the east of France; the other, Flanders and the Low 
Countries, to its north. Although they did not possess the 
royal title, they were more powerful than any king in Europe. 
No more sumptuous or elegant court could be found, and 
no more abundant resources supplied the wants of any state. 
The sole weakness of the Burgundian dominions lay in their 



256 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

geographical separation. The dukes sought to overcome 
this obstacle to greater power by the acquisition of the inter- 
vening territory and the creation of a middle kingdom 
between France and Germany. 

266. Dissimilar Characters of King Louis XI (1461-1483) 
and Duke Charles the Bold (1467-1477).— The rivalry 
between France and Burgundy became acute particularly 
in the days of Louis XI and Charles the Bold. In 1461 
Louis XI succeeded Charles VII on the throne of France. 
Before his accession he had been the leader of two rebellions 
against the king, his father. He possessed no mean qualities 
as a fighter, but disliked war with its uncertainty and 
ravages and preferred negotiation instead. An astute and 
unscrupulous politician, he relied chiefly on corruption as a 
means of government. His political measures were based 
on the conviction that everything is purchasable with 
money, from the loyalty of an impecunious official to the 
protection of the Almighty and His Saints. He was a past 
master in intrigue and dissimulation and, because of his all- 
pervading tissue of intrigues, has been appropriately referred 
to as the universal spider. 

His most illustrious opponent was Charles the Bold, who, 
even before he became Duke of Burgundy, took an active 
part in the resistance to Louis XI. Charles was ambitious, 
industrious and zealous for justice, and has been fittingly 
compared to Richard the Lion-Hearted. His twofold politi- 
cal aim was the weakening of France and the extension of his 
own dominions. He did not conceal his design of dividing 
and dismembering France, but declared in open and sarcastic 
fashion that he loved that kingdom so well that he wished it 
six kings instead of one. 

267. France and Burgundy at War; Failures and Death of 
Charles the Bold.— Charles the Bold played a leading part 
in three coalitions which were successively organized against 
Louis XI and are known under the general name of League 
of the Public Weal (1465, 1467, 1472). This term was 



FRANCE; THE HUNDRED YEARs' WAR 257 

applied to them because the confederates, se\-eral of whom 
were vassals of the French Crown, claimed that they were 
fighting to free the people from the malacbninistration of an 
arbitrary king. Louis XI triumphed over these coalitions. 
He stirred up insurrections and raised enemies against his 
principal adversary, Charles the Bold. When the latter 
was forced to sign a truce, the French king inflicted severe 
punishment on the most powerful of the rebels who had 
made common cause with the Burgundians. Charles' 
decisive defeat was due, however, not to the army of Louis 
XI, but to the latter's success in intrigue. He stirred up 
war between the duke and the Swiss Cantons and encouraged 
an insurrection against him in Lorraine. It was in the 
fighting which resulted that Charles lost his power and 
his life. He was utterly defeated by the Swiss in 1476 in 
two important battles and was betrayed and killed the follow- 
ing year in an attempt to capture Nancy, the capital of 
Lorraine. On the morning after the combat his body was 
found frozen in a pond and half devoured by wolves (January, 
1477). His dominions were inherited by his twenty-year-old 
daughter, Mary, who married the Emperor AlaximiHan I. 

268. King Charles VIII (1483-1498) and the Beginning of 
the Italian Expeditions. — The shrewd and practical Louis 
XI was succeeded by Charles VIII, a youth of adventurous 
spirit, vivid fancy, and romantic character. Tw^o important 
events occurred during his reign : the union of Brittany with 
the French Crown by the king's marriage with Anne, the 
last duchess of that province; and an expedition undertaken 
for the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples. The House of 
Anjou had possessed rights to the crown of Naples ever since 
the Popes had conferred the latter on an Angevin prince in 
the time of the Hohenstaufen. These rights were bequeathed 
to Louis XI, who, however, did not consider it expedient 
or profitable to vindicate them. His youthful successor, 
indulging wild dreams of conquest, adopted a different 
line of action. Carried away by the spirit and enthusiasm 



2vSS THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

of an ambitious warrior, he contemplated the capture of 
Constantinople, the deliverance of the Holy Land, and the 
restoration of an eastern empire, the crown of which would 
belong to him. In the execution of this grandiose scheme, 
the possession of Naples would be, so he held, of invaluable 
assistance as a point of support and connecting link between 
East and West. As a result, he resolved, in the first place, 
on asserting his rights to the possession of Naples. 

In September, 1494, he led an army into Italy and en- 
countered no resistance in his march southward. Milan, 
Florence, and Rome, afraid of his power, received him as a 
friend. Even in the Kingdom of Naples he met with only a 
show of resistance, and five months after starting on his 
expedition he entered the city of Naples in triumph, prema- 
turely ^acclaimed by soldiers and people as Emperor of Con- 
stantinople and King of Jersualem. 

His triumph, however, was to be as short as it had been 
easy. After three months he had to retrace his steps north- 
ward, because Milan, Venice, Spain, the Pope, and the 
emperor had united against him and tried to cut off his 
retreat. French valor and impetuosity triumphed over all 
obstacles and enabled him to effect a safe return to France. 
As he died soon after (1498), he did not realize even the be- 
ginning of his dream of world conquest. 

269. Louis XII (1498-1515) and Italy.— To the claims of 
Naples Louis XII added claims to Milan. He derived these 
from his grandmother, a daughter of the Duke of Milan. 
Shortly after his accession he invaded Italy, captured the 
reigning duke, interned him in France, conquered his territory 
and held it for fourteen years. 

After these successes in the north, he turned his attention 
to the south of Italy and organized a new expedition for the 
conquest of Naples. To overcome Spanish opposition, he 
agreed with Ferdinand of Aragon on a division of the king- 
dom: the north was to belong to the French, while the south 
was to be occupied by the Spaniards. This division was 



FRANCE: THE HUNDRED YEARs' WAR 259 

indeed carried out, but Ferdinand soon attack'cd and con- 
quered the part seized by the French, and in 1504 Louis XII 
signed a truce in which he abandoned all rights to Naples. 

A few years later the French king was to be involved in 
another Italian war waged against Venice. He had formed in 
1508 with the Emperor Maximilian I the League of Cambrai 
to humiliate the ambitious Republic of Venice. In 1509 
the Warrior-Pope Julius II joined the same alliance. Al- 
though intensely ItaHan in sentiment, the pontiff united 
with foreign powers against the Venetians, because the latter 
had occupied some of the cities of the Papal States. The 
s'oldiers of the League defeated the Venetians at Agnadello 
(May 14, 1509), and Venice sued for peace. The treaty 
restored to the Pope all the former parts of the States of the 
Church and enabled him to devote his attention to the 
general affairs of Italy. As he ardently desired the expulsion 
of all foreigners from the peninsula, he organized in 1511 
the Holy League against the French. It included, besides 
himself, the emperor, Venice, Spain, England, and Switzer- 
land. In the war which ensued, the French army, com- 
manded by the brilliant Gaston de Foix, the young nephew 
of Louis XII, won at first important successes against the 
formidable coalition. But this able general lost his life at 
the battle of Ravenna in 1512, and a reversal of fortune 
followed. The Swiss defeated the French army at Novara 
(1513); the Duchy of Milan had to be abandoned, France 
was invaded in the east by the Swiss and in the north by 
the English and the Germans. Louis XII, repeatedly 
defeated and threatened on all sides, signed a truce with the 
Pope, the emperor, and Ferdinand of Aragon, but, over- 
taken by death, he had to leave the settlement with his 
remaining enemies to his successor, Francis I. The latter 
won the important victory of Marignano in 1515 and then 
concluded a definitive peace. The Duchy of Milan was 
recognized as a French possession, whereas Naples was to 
form part of the Spanish dominions. France would thus 
dominate in the north and Spain in the south of Italy. 



260 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Bibliography 

Bangs, M. R., Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of France. (Houghton, Mifflin, 

Boston, 1910.) 
Dunn-Pat!ison, The Black Prince. (Methuen, London, 1910.) 
Lang, A., The Maid of France. (Longmans, New York, 1908.) 
Lodge, R., The Close of the Middle Ages. (Rivingtons, London, 1902.) 
Lowell, F. C, Joan of Arc. (Houghton, Mifflin, New York, 1896.) 
Putnam, R., Charles the Bold. (Putnam, New York, 1908.) 
Stoddard, E. V., Bertrand du Guesclin, Constable of France: His Life 

and Times. (Putnam, New York, 1897.) 
Twain, Mark, Joan of Arc. (Harper, New York, 1899.) 
Thayer, W. R., A Short History of Venice. (Macmillan, New York, 

1905.) 
Willert, P. F., The Reign of Louis XI. (Putnam, New York, 1876.) 

Historical Novel 

Conscience, H., The Lion of Flanders (Benziger, New York.) 



CHAPTER XX 
ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1509 

I. Edward I (1272-1307) and Edward II 

(1307-1327) 

^.270. Edward I's Accession; Leading Events of the Reign. 

4^When Henry HI died in 1272, his son Edward I, who 
succeeded him at the age of thirty-three, was absent on a 
Crusade. The news of his father's death reached him in 
Italy, but did not hasten his return to England. He pro- 
ceeded by slow journeys homeward and arrived in London 
in August, 1274. As governor of different provinces he 
had already acquired valuable experience in administrative 
affairs, and as king he became remarkajple as lawgiver, 
statesman, and especially as conqueror*. ( The two most 
striking events of his reign were the subjltgation of Wales 
and the attempted subjugation of Scotland. They were both 
the result of the king's design to bring the whole island of 
Britain under English rule. ) Not content with extending 
his dominions, he also strove to strengthen his power at 
home. In 1279 he issued the famous statute of mortmain, 
which forbade the gift of land to the clergy because property, 
in their possession, was no longer liable to the feudal dues. 
In 1290 he banished the Jews from England, because, al- 
though serviceable to himself as bankers, they were hated as 
usurers by his people. 

27l/The Conquest of Wales (1282).— The southern part 
of the Principality of Wales had come under English rule 
when Edward I ascended the throne; but in the mountainous 
regions of the north. Prince Llewellyn still maintained his 
independence. Although looked upon as a vassal by the 
English king, he refused to render the required homage 
until he was forced to submit in 1276. At the instigation of 
his brother David, he rebelled in 12S2 against his suzerain. 

261 



262 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Edward I determined to reduce Wales for ever to subjection 
and invaded the principality. Llewellyn was killed in 
resisting the English troops (1282), and shortly afterward his 
brother David was captured, sentenced to death as a traitor 
and quartered (1284)j 

{'After his success In the war, Edward gave proof of his 
ability as a statesman. /He strongly organized the conquered 
territory and sought to win the sympathies of its inhabitants. 
The English administrative system was introduced in part; 
cities were built in which the English element predominated, 
and fortresses were erected to prevent or defeat renewed 
attack) It was in one of these fortresses, Carnarvon Castle, 
that the future Edward II was born. To win over the hearts 
of the Welsh, his father gave him a Welsh nurse and sur- 
rounded him with Welsh servants. In 1301 he proclaimed 
him Prince of Wales, sl title borne to this day by the eldest 
son of the English kings. 

272. The Model Pariiament (1295); The Confirmation of 
the Charters (1297).— (Despite these measures of concilia- 
tion and proofs of goodwill, the early years of the English 
occupation of Wales were years of unrest in the country 
and of anxiety for Edward. The unfriendly character of 
his relations with France was an additional source of mis- 
givings and danger. In these difficult circumstances, he 
appealed for support to the whole English nation. He 
summoned in 1295 the Parliament, which, because it served 
as model for all subsequent assemblies of tha same kind, has 
become known as the Model Parliament J (The nobility, 
the clergy, and the common people were asked to send their 
representatives to meet the king, and the permanent repre- 
sentation of all classes of society in the English Parliament 
dates from this time. While it is not certain whether the 
representatives held their sessions as three separate Houses 
or as one national bod}^ the distinction between the Lords 

(Upper House), the Commons (Lower LTouse), and the Clergy 
was definitely established, for the three orders voted sepa- 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1509 263 

rately a large grant of money to the king. The representa- 
tives of the clergy subsequently claimed the right to discuss 
questions of taxation separately in their own meetings or 
convocations, j 

The meeting of the Model Parliament was soon followed 
by an important confirmation of Magna Carta and other • 
Charters (1297) . The wars in which Edward was constantly 
engaged were waged, like all wars, at heavy expense, and 
the king had had recourse to unusual means of taxation. 
The clergy and nobility protested against these illegal 
methods, and, before consenting to the levy of new taxes, 
obtained a confirmation and extension of the liberties 
granted in the Great Charter. The new concessions re- 
garded particularly the right of taxation and provided that 
no customs duties might be levied by the king without 
parliamentary consent. / 

273. The Succession to the Throne of Scotland.-A-Ever 
since the time of the Norman kings, Scotland had enterfained 
frequent relations with England, and the rapid development 
of the country was largely due to this intercourse with its 
more civilized southern neighbor. Towns had been built 
and town life had softened the manners of the inhabitants. 
Feudalism had been introduced and had superseded, to some 
extent, the more primitive clan organization. But feudalism 
had also given rise to controversies between the English kings 
and the rulers of Scotland. The former considered Scotland 
as a vassal kingdom, whilst the latter refused to recognize 
this state of dependence. When i\lexander III, who was 
King of Scotland from 1249 to 1286, died, the question of 
English suzerainty gave rise to difficulties. He left as sole 
heir Margaret, his granddaughter, who lived abroad with 
her father, the King of Norway. King Edward I, as over- 
lord, asked for his oldest son the hand of the young princessj) 
'\The preliminary details for the man-iage were satisfactorily 
krranged; but the "Maid of Norway" died on the ship which 
was carrving her l)ack to Scotland. A h(^sl of pretenders at 



264 THE CHRISTIAN EKA 

once laid claim to the succession. The controversy threat- 
ened to throw the country into anarchy and civil war and 
was submitted for settlement to Edward I's arbitration. 
Between the two principal claimants, John Balliol and 
Robert Bruce, he pronounced in favor of the former. John 
Balliol was crowmed at Scone near Perth and began his 
reign with an acknowledgment of EngHsh overlordship. ) 

274. Insurrection in Scotland; First Conquest of the 
Country (1296). — The succession question had been settled 
more easily than could have been anticipated ; but the extent 
to which Edward asserted his feudal rights was to cause deep 
resentment among the Scots. He insisted on the privilege 
of English law-courts to consider appeals from those of the 
vassal kingdom. This attitude provoked resistance, but 
was persisted in. Only a favorable opportunity was needed 
for the Scots to defy openly the authority of their English 
suzerain. It was furnished by an alliance which they 
concluded with France in 1295. With this treaty opens 
that period of friendly relations between the two countries 
which was to last for three hundred years. Relying on 
French support and emboldened by the difficulties which 
confronted Edward in newly conquered Wales, some Scottish 
barons took up arms against him, and John Balliol renounced 
his homage. The English king took personal command 
of the army which was to suppress the rebellion. He met 
the Scottish forces at Dunbar and defeated them so decisively 
that this sole battle made him master of the entire country 
(April 27, 1296). After receiving Balliol's submission, he 
advanced into the interior and carried off from Scone to 
Westminster the stone on which Scottish kings were wont 
to receive the royal crown. Scotland now seemed to be 
no more than an English dependency. 

275. New Rising in Scotland ; William Wallace and Robert 
Bruce. — The king had hardly left Scotland when a new up- 
rising occurred headed by the Scotch nobleman, William 
Wallace (1297). Its success was immediate and complete. 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1509 265 

The attack was so sudden and bold that the Enghsh rhd not 
have time to collect sufficient forces for effectual resistance. 
However, they promptly recovered from their defeat. 
Edward again placed himself at the head of an army, led 
it northward, and defeated his enemies in the battle of 
Falkirk (July 22, 1298). Wallace fled to France, but the 
resistance continued without him. Edward had to spend 
several years in again reducing the country to complete 
subjection. The collapse of Scottish power came only in 
1304 with the loss of the fortress of Stirling. The following 
year Wallace, who had returned from exile, was betrayed 
into the hands of the English, tried as a traitor, sentenced to 
death, and executed with circumstances of inhuman cruelty. 
He was dragged at the tail of a horse to the place of execu- 
tion, where his bowels were torn out, his eyes gouged out, his 
head cut off, and, to complete the destruction of his human 
frame, his body quartered. 

Edward could again believe that he had subdued Scotland. 
In reorganizing the administration, he was guided by the 
respect due to Scottish rights and the consideration of his 
own interests. Despite this prudent policy, the conquest was 
no more lasting than that of 1296. The Scottish nation was 
thoroughly aroused against foreign domination. It again 
found a national leader in Robert Bruce, who had been a 
rival of John Balliol for the Scottish throne. In 1306 a 
new war began in which the Scots were soon favored by a 
personal change in the English kingship. Edward I died 
in 1307, leaving his kingdom to an unworthy successor. 

276. Edward II and Piers Gaveston. — Edward I's ener- 
getic government was followed by the indolent and careless 
rule of Edward II. The new king had a pronounced aver- 
sion for public business, but delighted in pleasure and 
amusement. During his father's lifetime he had formed an 
intimate, friendship with Piers Gaveston, a native of southern 
France, who gained a complete ascendency over him. To 
free his son from the un(lesiral)le influence of thai noj)leman. 



266 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Edward I had banished Gaveston from court. Edward II 
was no sooner on the throne than he recalled and honored 
with titles and distinctions his favorite friend. During his 
absence in France, where he went to marry Isabella, the 
daughter of Philip the Fair, he even appointed Gaveston 
regent of the kingdom. This preference shown to a knight 
of foreign birth and inferior rank caused intense dissatisfac- 
tion among the English barons. They united under Thomas 
of Lancaster, the king's cousin, and determined to get rid 
of the favorite. As in the time of Simon of Montfort, they 
forced the king to sign ordinances by which he virtually 
handed over the power to them. They likewise extorted 
from him a sentence forever banishing Gaveston from the 
kingdom (1311). But soon tiring of their control and 
yearning for the return of his favorite, the king recalled the 
latter in 1312, only thus to become the involuntary cause of 
Gaveston's violent death. The barons took arms against 
the hated nobleman, captured him and had him beheaded 
almost without the semblance of a trial. In spite of his 
horror of the deed, the king, yielding to the force of cir- 
cumstances, consented to a reconciliation with the barons. 
277. The Battle of Bannockburn (1314); Scotland main- 
tains its Independence.— In his dealings with Scotland, 
Edward II respected the wishes of his father no more than 
in his attitude toward Piers Gaveston. The dying Edward 
I had enjoined upon him a vigorous prosecution of the Scottish 
war. But Edward II was rather remiss in his efforts to 
establish English power firmly in the north. He added no 
new territory to his father's conquests, but lost, on the 
contrary, one by one the fortresses w^hich were in English 
hands. Stirling was soon the only stronghold in Scotland 
left in his possession, and even this last remnant of English 
power was besieged and about to fall into the hands of 
the enemy. At this critical juncture, the king collected an 
army and marched, at its head, to the relief of the distressed 
city. His troo])s were numerous, but loose discipline and 
incompetent generalship caused their defeat. They were 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 150') 267 

stopped at the stream of Bannockburn in their advance on 
Stirhng and completely defeated (1314). The remnants of 
the army fled southward, the king at the head in the flight 
as he had been in the advance. vStirling capitulated; but 
the war dragged on for several years after its surrender. 
In a later expedition, Edward II narrowly escaped being 
captured by the Scots. Perceiving the uselessness of his 
efforts against the vScots, he signed in 1323 a truce for thirteen 
years in which he practically recognized the independence 
of Scotland. 

278. New Rule of Favorites; the Despensers; Edward 
IPs Deposition (1327). — The humiliating defeat of Bannock- 
burn had still further discredited the person and weakened 
the position of Edward IT. The barons, instead of the king, 
for several years governed the country. But Thomas of 
Lancaster, their haughty and egotistical leader, neglected 
nothing to render himself and his rule unpopular and de- 
tested. Conspicuous in the opposition to his misgovem- 
ment were the two Despensers, father and son, who worked 
with the king for Lancaster's overthrow. In the armed 
struggle which followed, the latter was defeated, captured, and 
beheaded (1322). The power passed for four 3^ears into the 
hands of the Despensers. But while they were incautiously 
abusing it by enriching themselves and ruining the state, 
their own downfall was preparing in France. Numerous 
enemies of theirs had fled to the French court after the 
defeat of Thomas of Lancaster. They freely intrigued 
against Edward and his favorites and succeeded in winning 
his wife over to their side. Queen Isabella organized in 
France an expedition against her husband and landed in 
1326 in England to rid the country, as she declared, of the 
king's favorites. She was hailed as a deliverer and was at 
once joined by numerotis followers. The king fled to Wales, 
but was cai^tured with his favorites. The DesiJensers were 
executed (1326); the king (lei)osed In' Parliament (1327). 
He was detained as a prisoner in Berkely Castk\ where lie 
died a mysterious death some months later. 



268 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

II. The Reigns of Edward III (1327-1377) and 
Richard II (1377-1399) 

279. Edward Ill's Accession. — Edward III, whose reign 
was one of the most illustrious in the history of England, 
came to the throne at the age of fourteen. He could not, 
owing to his youth, carry on the government by himself, 
but was constrained to leave it for four years in the hands 
of Roger Mortimer, his mother's paramour. In 1330 he 
got rid of this unworthy regent and from that date until 
almost the end of the reign ruled pers9nally as king, being 
little influenced by his assistants in the government. Pre- 
eminently a warrior, he won signal victories in the Hundred 
Years' War with France and was also most successful in 
his wars with Scotland. (See the preceding chapter for a 
discussion of the Hundred Years' War.) 

280. The Battle of Neville's Cross (1346).— A dispute 
about the succession to the throne of Scotland afforded 
Edward HI, at the very beginning of his reign, an oppor- 
tunity to interfere in the affairs of that country. It was 
not until 1346, however, that he won his most brilliant 
triumph over the Scots. The latter, considering the absence 
of the best English troops in France a favorable opportunity 
for an attack, had invaded northern England and proceeded 
as far as Neville's Cross in Yorkshire. Here they were 
opposed by hastily collected troops and suffered a severe 
defeat. Their king, David Bruce, was captured, held 
prisoner for eleven years, and released only when his liberty 
could no longer constitute a danger to the security of England. 

281. The Black Death and the Statute of Laborers (1349). 
— It was but shortly after Edward III had won his great 
military successes at Neville's Cross in Britain and at Crecy 
on the continent that a terrible epidemic, known as the 
Black Death, swept over England. According to a con- 
servative estimate, this scourge reduced the population at 
least by half and seriouslv affected economic and labor 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 15U9 260 

conditions in the country. When it made its ai)i)earanee in 
1348, the practise was already i)revalent of hirinj^^ workinj^'- 
men at stated wages rather than of accepting; personal 
service in pa>aTient of feudal dues. The ravaj^es, caused Vjy 
the Black Death, reduced very considerably the number of 
laborers and resulted in a corresponding increase in wages. 
As the price of agricultural products and the income of the 
employers tended downward rather than upward since there 
was less demand for the goods they put up for sale, a serious 
crisis disturbed the economic and social life of the English 
people. Parliament, to solve the problem, passed the 
Statute of Laborers (1349), by which it imposed a scale of 
wages on the working classes and decreed penalties against 
anyone demanding a higher salary than the price fixed 
by law. The statute was stoutly opposed 15y the laborers 
and did not prove very effectual in solving the wage problem, 
but it was maintained in force until Queen Elizabeth's 
time. Its chief result was to foster antagonism and discord 
between two classes of society, those who owned the land 
and those who tilled it. 

282. Constitutional Development; The Good Parliament 
(1375).J-Under Edward III the last vestige of the right 
exercizeLby the king to tax without the consent of parlia- 
ment disappeared. From then on the levy of every tax 
had, according to royal concession, to be approved by the 
representatives of the nation. Edward's reign was also 
notable for the definitive separation of the legislature into 
two houses: the House of Lords, composed of the higher 
nobility and clergy, and the House of Commons, made up of 
the knights of the shire and the representatives of the towns. 
These constitutional changes belong to the early part of the 
reign. Toward its end occurred another important, de- 
velopment in English constitutional history, namely, the 
claim advanced bv the House of Commons to a voice m the 
appointment of the king's ministers.' This power over 
royal officials was first exercized by the so-called Good 



270 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Parliament in 1376, owing to the disastrous influence which 
the king's fourth son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, 
had acquired in the government. Edward III, during the 
later years of his reign, was rapidly declining and losing 
daily more and more the personal control of affairs. Things 
were going from bad to worse when in 1376, Parliament, 
supported by the Black Prince, took a determined stand 
against the Duke of Lancaster's misgovernment and pre- 
ferred well-founded charges of dishonesty against two of 
the royal ministers. The king was forced to dismiss these 
corrupt officials; but soon after their removal the Black 
Prince died, and his death was followed by a prompt return 
to the old abuses. John of Gaunt recalled the dismissed 
ministers and retained power until the king's death in 1377. 
The reign of Edward III thus ended in a very discreditable 
fashion. The people, however, remembered his services 
and triumphs rather than his later weakness and inefficiency. 
The national sentiment which had generously supported 
him in his wars, continued gratefully to cherish his achieve- 
ments. It had found expression during the reign in the 
adoption of the English language in the law-courts and in 
Parliament. 

283. Richard II succeeds to the Throne; John Wiclif and 
Religious Unrest. — Immediately upon the death of the Black 
Prince in 1376, Parliament, in accordance with popular 
wish, recognized his son as the successor to the throne. 
The boy was only ten years old and, at a time when the 
crown did not necessarily descend in the direct line, owed his 
selection in preference to his uncles, to the general admiration 
and esteem in which his late father was held. When he 
ascended the throne a religious and social revolution was 
in preparation. The principal cause of the religious unrest 
was the priest John Wiclif (about 1320-1384), who was for 
a time professor at the University of Oxford and enjoyed 
to the end of his life powerful protection at court. The 
favor in which he was held in court circles was not entirely 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1500 271 

disinterested, for Wiclif maintained that the power of the 
king was superior to that of the Pope and that no tribute or 
dues could be exacted by the Ih)ly vSee from the Enghsh 
nation. The Church, so he further maintained, should 
forego the possession of all property, because it causes her 
corruption and ruin, and should return to the poverty and 
simplicity of Apostolic times. The vSacred ScriiHures were, 
in his eyes, the highest rehgious authority, and he insisted 
that they should be known by every one. To make them 
accessible to the people, he published them in English trans- 
lation. His followers became numerous and were called 
Lollards or babblers. Some of them, known as the "Poor 
Priests," went about the country preaching the new doc- 
trines. By their declamations against existing conditions, 
they were partly responsible for the peasants' uprising of 
1381. Their errors were condemned at an early date and 
they themselves were subjected to persecution. But Wiclif, 
owing to the high protection which he enjoyed, was never 
condemned, although he was forced to spend the later years 
of his life in. retirement. 

284. The Peasants' Uprising (1381). — The unsatisfactory 
economic conditions, caused by the Black Death, continued 
for years to cause friction between the landowners and the 
working classes. The Statute of Laborers (1349) did not 
improve the situation to any considerable extent, and as the 
wages remained high, in spite of its provisions, the landlords 
attempted to reenforce the old system of services required of 
the peasants for the use of the land granted them. The 
peasants refused to consent to this restoration of bondage, 
and trouble was already brewing when the government 
decreed the collection of a poll-tax from every person o\'er 
sixteen years of age. The new tax was the signal for an 
uprising in several parts of the country. The j^easants 
demanded the complete suppression of all labor services and, 
to obtain satisfaction, marched on all sides upon London. 
The insurgents of Kent, with TI 'a^ Tyler at their head, sue- 



272 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

ceeded in enterin^^ the capital. In a meeting with the king, 
in which they were asked to state their grievances, Tyler 
spoke with such insolence that he was stabbed to death by 
the Mayor of London. His followers swore to avenge their 
leader, but the king, with calm self-possession and admirable 
courage, rode into their midst and promised that he would 
lead them himself and grant redress of their grievances. 
His cool and conciliatory demeanor saved the situation: 
the rebels disbanded and returned home. In other parts 
of the country they were put down with great cruelty by the 
local authorities. 

285. Richard IPs Deposition (1399). — Internal peace was 
restored long before the end of Richard II's reign, although 
Parliament refused to sanction the promises made by him 
to the rebels. In his later years, the king became very 
despotic and extremely unpopular. On the death of John 
of Gaunt, he confiscated the estates which belonged, by 
rightful inheritance, to the latter 's eldest son, Henry, Duke 
of Lancaster. Henry, whom the king had previously 
banished, returned from exile in 1399 and claimed not only 
his inheritance, but the English throne. The people, longing 
for a change of government, sided with him, and Richard, 
abandoned by all, was captured and imprisoned in the Tower. 
A Parliament was summoned which declared his deposition 
and recognized the Duke of Lancaster as his successor under 
the name of Henry IV. 

III. England from 1399-1509; Her Relations 
WITH Ireland 

286. The Houses of Lancaster and York come succes- 
sively to the Throne. — With the deposition of Richard II, 
the last of the Plantagenets was removed from the throne. 
His conqueror and successor, Henry IV, began a new dynasty, 
which, from the ducal title which its founder bore before 
his accession, was called the House of Lancaster. It ruled 
England for a little over sixty years (1399-1461) and during 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1500 273 

that time was represented on the throne by tln'ee kings, 
who all bore the name of Henry.' It was suceeeded by the 
House of York,- which, after a period of twenty-five years 
(1461-1485), had to yield its place to the dynasty of the 
Tudors. Under the rulers of the House of Lancaster, the 
Hundred Years' War with France was brought to an un- 
successful conclusion. In internal affairs, unrest, con- 
spiracies, and rebellions marked the reigns of the Lancastrian 
kings and their Yorkist successors. Henry IV had been 
supported in his royal pretensions by the people and had 
been proclaimed king by the Parliament. Nevertheless he 
had used force to deprive Richard II of his crown and placed 
it on his own head. This proceeding was soon denounced as 
downright usurpation by those who became dissatisfied with 
the new government. As early as January, 1400, an upris- 
ing took place in favor of Richard II. It was suppressed 
by the people rather than by Henry himself, and, a little 
over a month after its failure, Richard II died in his prison. 
He was said to have starved himself to death, but, was in 
reality, most probably starved by his keepers. In spite of 
his death the intrigues against the new king continued 
throughout the reign and helped to undermine his health 
and probably to hasten his death. 

287. The Statute decreeing the Burning of Heretics 
(1401).— The Lollards, at the beginning of Henry IV's 
reign, had already lost in number and influence. They were, 
however, still strong enough to cause harmful division and 
serious trouble in the realm. Henry, far from imitating his 
father, John of Gaunt, in his friendly attitude toward them, 
relied for support on the Catholics and was a resolute op- 
ponent of the Lollards. They had already incurred ec- 
clesiastical condemnations and censures, but no civil penalties 
had as yet been visited upon them. In 1401 a statute, 



The three Lancastrian kings were: Henry IV (1399-141.3). Henry. V (1413-1422). 
1 Henry VI (1422-1461). 
The kings of the House of 
and Richard III (1483-1485). 



^"^^fkLS^A^^' House- of York were: Edward IV (1461-1483). Edward V (1483). 



274 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

directed against them, decreed that any person found guilty 
of heresy should be committed to the flames. This mode of 
punishment had been in use for a considerable time in con- 
tinental Europe, but the statute just mentioned introduced 
it into England and was the first English law especially 
enacted for the repression of religious error. In reality 
only a small number of Lollards were burnt at the stake; 
others retracted when summoned to do so, and the sect 
itself had become rather unimportant at the end of the 
fifteenth century. 

288. Henry V and Henry VI; Origin of the War of the 
Roses. — In spite of the conspiracies which troubled Henry 
IV's reign, his son Henry V, one of the most successful and 
popular kings of England, quietly entered upon his father's 
succession. The opposition to the Lancastrian dynasty, 
however, was not dead, but showed itself in armed, though 
useless, resistance in the new king's reign. The latter's 
chief merit to glory lies in his success in foreign affairs. He 
won the remarkable victory of Agincourt and had himself 
recognized, by solemn treaty, as regent and heir-apparent 
of the French kingdom. In practise, however, this recogni- 
tion produced no lasting results, for his son's reign was just 
as disastrous as his father's had been glorious. Under 
Henry VI, all the French territory, excepting Calais, was 
lost, and conditions in England became very unsettled. 
This was partly due to the fits of insanity which the king 
seemed to have inherited from his grandfather, Charles VI 
of France. To carry on the government during his mental 
affliction, Richard, Duke of York, was appointed Protector 
of the kingdom. But power once tasted is not always readily 
given up : a bitter contention for the throne followed between 
the House of Lancaster and the House of York and cul- 
minated in a most destructive civil war, called the Wars of 
the Roses. 

289. The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485).— This war 
received its name from the badges worn by the two con- 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1500 275 

tending parties. The House of Lancaster wore a red rose, 
while the supporters of the House of York chose, as their 
emblem, the white rose. The conflict divided the English 
kingdom into two almost equal parts, the north chiefly 
defending the Lancastrian cause and the south siding mainly 
with the House of York. It was a struggle between persons 
and factions, and not a question of issues and principles. 
Two parties representing each a section of the English 
nobility fought for power and influence. The battles were 
numerous as were also the executions, devastations, and 
acts of treachery. The first leader of the Yorkists was slain 
in battle, while the Lancastrian Henry VI succumbed to 
assassination. The most revolting crime was perpetrated 
by Richard III of York against members of his own house. 
He secured the crown through the assassination of two 
children, his nephews, in 1483. 

One of the best known leaders of the war was the Earl of 
Warwick, surnamed the king-maker. He supported first 
one side and then the other, as his own interest and that of 
his family dictated. Although the extent of his influence is 
probably exaggerated in the above-mentioned surname, he 
was undoubtedly a powerful leader who fought successfully 
in many battles, notably in the bloodiest of them all, that of 
Towton in 1461. He was slain on the field of Bamet ten 
years later. The war continued after his death and ended 
only in 1485 with the battle of Bosworth Field. At Bosworth 
the infamous Richard III was slain, while Henry Tudor won 
the victory and secured the crown. 

290. Result of the Wars of the Roses; Reign of Henry VII 
(1485-1509).— Soon after the battle of Bosworth, Henry 
VII united in his family the rights of the Lancastrians and 
the Yorkists. He had inherited the claims of the former 
from his mother and secured those of the latter by his 
marriage with Elizabeth of York in 1486. Nevertheless, 
attempts were made by impostors to deprive him of the 
crown. The most famous of these was a young Fleming, 



276 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Perkin Warbeck, who pretended to be the genuine represen- 
tative of the House of York. Supported by France and 
Scotland, he landed on the English coast and appealed to 
the inhabitants for support against the king. Joined by 
only a few unenthusiastic followers, he was captured, im- 
prisoned in the Tower, and, a little later, delivered up to the 
executioner in punishment of his rashness. \ Such stern 
repression of all resistance consolidated Henry VH's dynasty 
on the throne. With his reign the great power which had 
been exercized for a considerable period by Parliament 
came to an end, and the absolute rule of the Tudors was 
imposed on England. The results of the wars of the Roses 
powerfully contributed to the introduction of this important 
change. The nobility had been decimated in that struggle 
and its estates subjected to frequent devastations. The 
class was not powerful enough, either in membership or 
wealth, to oppose the will of an energetic king, or even to 
defend its rights against ro3^al oppression. The trading 
classes, which were acquiring increasing importance, were 
ready to support a government which promised to restore 
and maintain internal security. The energetic Tudors pro- 
fited by these favorable circumstances to impose their will 
and policies on the nation. 

Henry VH not only maintained internal tranquillity, but 
also promoted external peace. He laid the foundations of 
the power and greatness of the modern English state. Com- 
merce and industry were encouraged during his reign, and 
the economy and thrift practised in the administration 
enabled the king to leave after him well-ordered finances 
and a full treasury. The conclusion of marriages by his 
children with members of reigning houses enhanced the 
honor and esteem in which the country was held. His 
eldest daughter Margaret married King James IV of Scot- 
land, while his son Arthur became the husband of Catherine 
of Aragon. Catherine belonged to the royal house of 
Spain, and Spain was then the leading nation of Europe. 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1509 277 

Cold in temperament, unlovable in character, and absolute 
in the use of power, Henry VII was nevertheless looked upon 
by his subjects as a beneficent ruler, because, after a long 
period of suffering, he had brought relief to a distracted 
country. 

291. The English in Ireland; the "Pale."— The English 
King Henry II, it will be recalled, had made a successful 
expedition to Ireland and subjugated a part of the country. 
After him, numerous Anglo-Norman lords settled in the 
island. The authority of the English kings was, neverthe- 
less, hardly recognized. It was acknowledged in some ports 
of the eastern and southern coasts, notably in Dublin and 
the surrounding country. This territory under English 
control was marked off inland by a dyke and became known 
as the Pale. In it the language, customs, laws, and senti- 
ments were English. Beyond it the title of "Lords of 
Ireland" borne by the English kings meant but little. The 
Anglo-Norman lords rendered certain feudal services to the 
Crown, but the native chieftains who held most of the 
territory considered themselves completely independent 
and were constantly engaged in private wars. Their feuds 
had first made the English occupation possible and were now 
responsible for its continuance. 

292. The Statute of Kilkenny (1367).— The presence of 
the foreigner added a new element of discord. To the 
hatred existing between the clans was added the racial 
antagonism between English and Irish. Occupying the 
same soil, they were kept apart by different institutions and 
unconquerable prejudices. The English were governed by 
their own laws, interpreted and applied by royal judges; the 
Irish were ruled according to their code interpreted by the 
Brehons. In the eyes of the English who did not recognize 
the Celtic code, the Irish came under the protection of no 
law whatever. So true is this that an instance is on record 
where an Englishman was acquitted of murder on the plea 
that the person whom he had killed was a mere Irishman. 



278 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Under such circumstances the fusion between the two races 
was of course impossible. The famous Statute of Kilkenny 
(1367) not only sanctioned, but imposed absolute separation 
between them. Under pain of death Englishmen were 
forbidden to marry into Irish families, to receive Irishmen 
into their homes, to engage in trade or even conversation 
with them. Under the less severe, but nevertheless drastic 
penalty of confiscation they were prohibited from adopting 
Irish customs or names, from entertaining bards or em- 
ploying Irish workmen on the plea that these two classes 
were so many spies. The separation extended even to the 
respective churches: an English priest was not allowed to 
exercize his functions in Celtic territory and an Irish clergy- 
man could not officiate in the Pale. 

293. Tudor Policy in Ireland; Poynings Act (1494).— The 
Statute of Kilkenny undoubtedly fostered opposition and 
maintained separation between the members of the two 
races. It did not prevent the assimilation and absorption 
of numerous English families who had settled in Irish terri- 
tory. It could not prevent it, because the settlers were too 
few, too scattered, and too long abandoned to themselves 
by the mother country. The English government for a 
considerable time paid little attention to Irish affairs owing 
to the troubles of the Hundred Years' War and the disturb- 
ances of the Wars of the Roses. Its officials could exercize 
but little power and depended for any respect given to their 
authority largely on Irish good will. Under the Tudor 
dynasty this was to be changed. Its very first representa- 
tive, Henry VII, adopted a stronger policy. He sent to 
the island in 1494 Sir Edward Poynings, who signalized his 
advent by enforcing the Statute of Kilkenny and by pub- 
lishing an Act which still goes under his name, and which in 
all things subjected the Irish Parliament to the English 
Lord-Lieutenant and his council. 



ENGLAND FROM 1270 TO 1509 279 

Bibliography 

Abram, A., Social England in the Fifteenth Century. (Routlcdge, Lon- 
don, 1909.) 
Creighton, C, A History of Epidemics in Britain. (The University 

Press, Cambridge, 1894). 
Gairdner, J., The Houses of Lancaster and York. (Scribncr, New 

York, 1886.) 
Gasquet, Cardinal F. A., The Eve of the Reformation. (Bell, London, 

1905.) 
Idem., The Old English Bible and Other Essays. 2d ed. (Bell, London, 

1908.) 
Green, A. S., The Irish Nationality. (Holt, New York, 1911.) 
Idem., The Making of Ireland. (Macmillan, New York, 1908.) 
Idem, Town Life in the Fifteenth Century. (Macmillan, New York, 

1907.) 
Jusserand, J., English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages. (Putnam, 

New York, 1889.) 
Patmore, K. A., The Seven Edwards of England. (Methuen, London, 

1911.) 
Stoker, B., Famous Impostors. (Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1910.) 
Temperley, G., Henry VII. (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1914.) 

Historical Novels 

Porter, J., The Scottish Chiefs. (Routledge, New York.) 
Stevenson, R. L., The Black Arrow. (Scribner, New York.) 



CHAPTER XXI 
SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 

I. Spain 

294. Spain from 711 to 1002.— The Visigothic kingdom, 
weakened by discord and misrule, fell an easy prey to Arab 
attack in 711. With its last King^Roderic it then disap- 
peared from history; his dominions were quickly overrun 
by the conquerors, and the native inhabitants either ac- 
cepted Mohammedan rule or fled into the mountainous 
districts of the north. Those who remained in the con- 
quered territory were called Mozarahs and were allowed, 
during the early period of Moslem domination, to practise, 
with little interference, their Christian religion. They were 
subjected to a poll-tax and ruled by foreigners, but were not 
compelled to accept the religion of the Prophet. This 
condition of comparative freedom was unfortunately followed 
in the ninth century by a period of violent persecution. 
Numerous Christians sealed their faith with their blood; 
others renounced the true religion and adopted Islamism. 
Owing to persecution, environment, and material induce- 
ments, the Mozarabs disappeared almost entirely during the 
prolonged period of Mohammedan occupation. In the 
tenth century even the Christian states of the north were 
so constantly harassed that they seemed to be threatened 
with annihilation. They obtained relief in 1002 when they 
united against their most formidable enemy, the Arab 
general Almanzor, and crushed his power. 

295. The Reconquest of Spain from 1002 to 1212.— The 
defeat and death of Almanzor were followed by the rapid 
decline of the Moslem state of Spain. Ever since its es- 
tablishment, it had .=^uffered from dissensions caused by 
differences of race among the conquerors and by the inor- 
dinate ambition of rival leaders. Discord among their 

280 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 2(S1 

neighbors was the opportunity of the Christians, allhouKli 
they also were divided among themselves and unable to put 
forth all their strength against the invader. For three 
hundred years their struggle was more one of successful 
defense than of aggressive reconquest. In the eleventh 
century they wrested from the enemy important and ex- 
tensive districts. The Kingdoms of Asturia and Aragon 
formed the principal centres in which the attacks were 
prepared, expeditions organized, and from which raids were 
carried out. The national hero of this chivalrous age of 
Spanish history is Rodrigo Diaz, better known as the Cid 
Campeador (1040-1099). However, he owes his popularity 
more to romance and legend than to real merit. Poetry 
has depicted him as a model Christian knight, noble, gener- 
ous, gentle, and courageous; whereas he was, according to 
all reliable information, a brilliant and daring soldier indeed, 
but also an adventurer prepared to battle with equal readi- 
ness against either Christian or Mohammedan. The 
capture of the modern vSpanish capital, Madrid (1083), and 
the reconquest of the ancient city of Toledo (1085) were 
effected without him; but fighting on his own account in 
1094, after prodigies of valor, he drove the Moors from 
Valencia. After his death a few years later, the ruined city 
was again abandoned to the infidels by his widow. 

The successes of the eleventh century were continued in 
the twelfth. Large territories were reconquered and again 
placed under Christian rule. Out of the western districts 
the independent Kingdom of Portugal was created in 11-10. 
The city of Lisbon, freed from Moslem domination in 1147, 
became the capital of the new state. But the crusading 
ardor which had produced such remarkable results was on 
the wane when Innocent III ascended the papal throne 
(1198). The great pontiff inspired the warriors of the Cross 
with new courage, sent them reenforcements. and prepared 
the most powerful army that had yet attacked Islamism 
in Spain. The victory of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), 



282 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

which secured forever the preponderance of Christianity in 
the country, was the fitting reward of the Pope's efforts in 
behalf of the true rehgion. By the middle of the thirteenth 
century the Moors had lost all their vSpanish possessions, 
with the exception of the small and naturally protected 
Kingdom of Granada. 

296. Gradual Establishment of Spanish National Unity. — 
The Christians, who had fled from the Mohammedan danger 
to the mountain fastnesses of the north, formed four in- 
dependent kingdoms: iVsturia, Navarre, Aragon and Cata- 
lonia. In the resistance which they offered to Moslem ad- 
vance, the Kingdom of Navarre first attained the leadership. 
But it soon fell to a secondary position and came with 
Catalonia, owing to its geographical position and dynastic 
relations, under Prankish influence. The friendly relations 
entertained by the two states with Prance resulted in the 
introduction of feudal ideas into Spain and the partial iden- 
tification of the history of Navarre and Catalonia with that 
of their northern neighbor. The territory which they 
comprised was nevertheless destined, in the main, to be 
ultimately absorbed by Spain. The two Christian states 
which were to play the most important part in the expulsion 
of the Moor and the realization of Spanish national unity 
were the kingdoms of Asturia and Aragon. The former, 
after a while, abandoned its original name for that of Leon, 
and this was in turn superseded by the name of Castile when 
in 1230 these two states (Leon and Castile) were definitely 
united. As for the union of Aragon and Castile it was 
prepared by the marriage contracted before their accession 
to the throne by Perdinand, who inherited the former, and 
Isabella, who received the latter kingdom. The two realms 
thus came into the hands of the same family, although they 
remained ^nder separate rule during the reign of the two 
consorts,. '' ^■ 

297. Isabella, Queen of Castile (1474-1504); Ferdinand, 
King of Aragon (1479-1516) and the Reconquest of Granada 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE I'AST 2S,^ 

(Jan. 2, 1492).— The matrimonial alliance of Ferdinand and 
Isabella was fraught with momentous consequences for 
Spain's internal history. Their reign was also marked by 
external events of extraordinary importance. Geographical 
discoveries, the results of which cannot be overestimated, 
were made with their help and encouragement, marriages 
were contracted by their children which assured to Spain 
the friendship of the leading European states, and the 
Moors were driven from the remnant of their dominions in 
the peninsula. The Moors were still in possession of the 
Kingdom and City of Granada. They had been able to 
maintain themselves there more by the divisions or indiffer- 
ence of the Christians than by their own strength. Under 
the vigorous rule of Ferdinand and Isabella, an end was to 
be put to their presence in Spain. The war against them, 
begun in 1481, lasted for ten years, but was not always 
pushed with equal vigor. The last stronghold of Moorish 
power, the City of Granada, surrendered on January 2, 
1492. The noble task of reconquering the fair and Catholic 
land of Spain from foreign and infidel usurpation was thus 
completed. The Moorish inhabitants who remained in 
Spain were granted the free exercize of their religion; but 
after their rebellion against the Spanish govermnent in 1500- 
1501, this privilege was suppressed, and they were given the 
alternative of accepting baptism or going into exile. Meas- 
ures such as these enforced against them and against the 
Jews, together with the reestablishment of the Inquisition, 
were to maintain Spain's religious unity and preserve her 
inhabitants from internal religious wars. 

298. Ferdinand and Isabella's Internal Administration. — 
Ferdinand and Isabella's principal aim in their domestic 
administration was the strengthening of the royal power. 
The Spanish state had grown under exceptional circumstances 
and extraordinary difficulties. It was restored, bit by bit. 
to its original form and greatness through eight centuries of 
warfare. The war was at once religious and national and 



284 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

"effected in the Spanish' people that intimate fusion of patrio- 
tic and religious feeling which distinguished them during 
many centuries." But while the struggle strongly welded 
the Spaniards together in religion and patriotism, the royal 
power remained dependent on the material and moral forces 
on which it had relied in the reconquest. The clergy had 
acquired an extraordinary ascendency over their fellow- 
citizens, because by their preaching they had animated the 
faith and sustained the courage of the fighters against Islam, 
They had thus merited well of Church and state. The 
nobility were not only trained soldiers, but experienced fighters 
and had enlarged their estates and increased their wealth 
by conquest from the Infidel. The towns, exposed in many 
instances to hostile attack, had freely organized themselves 
in self-defense and acquired considerable power. Under 
such conditions, the task of creating a strong central govern- 
ment presented very serious difficulties. It was, neverthe- 
less, successfully accomplished by King Ferdinand in Aragon 
and Queen Isabella in Castile. Although husband and wife, 
they ruled their respective dominions independently, but 
pursued the same policy. They reduced the power of the 
nobility in fact, without changing the letter of the existing 
laws and statutes; they created an armed protective force 
in the cities, but placed it under royal control. As for the 
power of the Church, they used it, to a great extent, through 
the reorganized Inquisition for the benefit of the state. 
In their efforts to make Spain a well-ordered and flourishing 
commonwealth they succeeded in securing the talented and 
disinterested assistance of Cardinal Ximenes (1436-1517), 
who became chancellor of Castile and counsellor of Ferdinand 
of Aragon. Friar, statesman, and soldier, he loyally served 
the Church, unselfishly promoted the best interests of the 
state, particularly in education, and personally led a suc- 
cessful expedition to Africa against the Moors. This attack 
on the old enemy in his own country is the most eloquent 
proof of the superior strength which Spain had acquired. 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 2<S5 

Queen Isabella died in 1504, and Furdiiiand of Ara^on took 
over the government of Castile, thus uniting the two king- 
doms in the one Kingdom of wSpain. But the legal heiress 
of Castile was his daughter Joanna, who had married Philip, 
the son of the Emperor Maximilian I, and who was absent 
from the kingdom. In 1506 Philip and Joanna appeared in 
Castile to take possession of the government. But shortly 
after coming to an understanding with Ferdinand, Philip 
died and Joanna became insane. Ferdinand now ruled as 
King of Spain until his death in 1516 and then transmitted 
all his Spanish dominions to the son of Philip and Joanna, 
who is recorded in history as Charles I, King of Spain, and 
Charles V, Emperor of Germany. 

II. Germany 

299. General Characteristics of the Period; the Inter- 
regnum (1254-1273). — France, England, and Spain attained, 
during this period, their national unity and established 
strong monarchical governments. No such progress is 
noticeable in the history of Germany or Italy. These two 
countries continued to be divided into a multitude of petty 
states and were unified only in the nineteenth century. 
Disintegration and strife were the characteristics of their 
history during the later Middle Ages. Germany was divided 
into over 300 different states, some of which, while including 
no more than a castle with a village or two, had nevertheless, 
like the larger subdivisions, their separate rulers. Each 
little knight or princelet administered his holding as if he 
were supreme and independent of all higher control. The 
central authority of the emperor was, generally speaking, 
respected only in his own family estates. Outside of these 
he exercized but httle power either in domestic or foreign 
affairs. The ascendency of the empire of Gennany came to 
an end with the downfall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. 
After that event the imperial coronation took place only in 



286 THE CHRIvSTIAN ERA 

rare instances and no longer conferred any real power. In 
the German kingdom the very centre of gravity was trans- 
ferred from the west to the east. Up to the middle of the 
thirteenth century, the Rhine countries had formed the 
principal element in the state ; from then on affairs gravitated 
eastward. The emperor's attention and interest were 
centred more on eastern lands, and Bohemia and Austria 
began to play an important part in German history. 

The twenty years which immediately followed the downfall 
of the Hohenstaufen (1254-1273) are known as the Inter- 
regnum. They form one of the saddest periods in German 
history, a period of lawlessness and universal anarchy. It 
was the reign of the mailed fist, when no right, however 
sacred or inviolable, was respected. The roads were infested 
by robber-bands which attacked and despoiled the innocent 
traveller and peaceful trader. The words used at a later 
date by a knight in welcoming the wolves as his comrades 
accurately describe the sentiments of the lawless nobleman 
of the Interregnum. "Good luck, my dear comrades," 
he cried to a pack of wolves which he saw fall on a flock of 
sheep; "good luck to us all, and everywhere." Germany 
remained in this deplorable state until 1273, when the 
election of Rudolf of Hapsburg again gave the empire a recog- 
nized head. 

300. Rudolf of Hapsburg (1273-1291).— Rudolf of Haps- 
burg was destined to be not only the restorer of order, but 
also the founder of a new dynasty in Germany. He owned 
extensive lands in Alsace and Switzerland and derived his 
title of nobility from the castle of Hapsburg situated in the 
latter country. While only a count and therefore not a 
member of the kigher nobility, he was recommended by his 
simplicity, prudence, and bravery to the electoral college, 
which unanimously raised him to the imperial dignity. 

Under critical circumstances, he set to work with ardor and 
determination to suppress lawlessness and restore security. 
The too long reign of violence was to be succeeded by an era 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 2<S7 

of peace. The new emperor himself went fmm place to 
place enforcing obedience to law, flcslroying the lairs of 
the robber-barons, and inflicting condign punishment, in- 
cluding the death penalty, on the disturbers of the public 
peace. In Thuringia alone, sixty-six castles of robber- 
knights were destroyed. Such stern repression of disorder 
produced the desired result and toward the end of the reign 
general tranquillity had been restored. 

This success was partly due to the new foreign policy which 
Rudolf inaugurated in the empire and which has with 
reason been called the Hapsburg policy. He abandoned 
that grandiose, but unrealizable, scheme of world dominion 
which had lured his predecessors to Italy and consumed the 
resources of Germany. His policy was less ambitious, but 
more practical. Instead of wasting his strength on foreign 
battlefields, he confined his efforts to the government of 
Germany. The new departure meant the deliverance of 
Italy from frequent armed expeditions, the preservation of 
domestic strength, and the protection of home interests. 

301. The Succession after Rudolf. — The Hapsburg dy- 
nasty was not to come into permanent possession of the 
German crown with Rudolf of Hapsburg. The electoral sys- 
tem continued to prevail in deciding the succession, and 
three houses were in competition for the throne: the families 
of Hapsburg, Luxemburg and Bavaria. Not many years 
after Rudolf's death, the first member of the Luxemburg 
dynasty was elected to the throne in the person of Henry 
VII (1308-1313). The two most important events of his 
reign were an expedition to Italy and the acquisition of 
Bohemia. The journey to Italy was undertaken for the pur- 
pose of restoring order, reestablishing German power, and 
receiving the imperial crown. Henry was welcomed with 
enthusiasm by the Ghibellines, particularly that great 
Italian patriot and greatest of Italian poets, Dante Alighieri, 
who saw in imperial dominance the only salvation for a much 
distracted Italy. The imperial coronation was pcrfonned in 



288 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Rome by three legates deputed for the ceremon}^ by the 
Pope then resident at Avignon; but the resistance of the 
Guelf cities to Henry was so obstinate that he died before 
he could reduce them to submission. 

He was succeeded by Lewis IV, known from the family to 
which he belonged as the Bavarian. Lewis' reign of thirty- 
three years (1314-1347) was disturbed by two bitter con- 
flicts, one against a rival candidate and another against the 
papacy. Lewis successfully maintained himself against his 
competitor for the crown, but was worsted in his quarrel 
with the Popes and seemed to be on the point of losing all 
power when he suddenly died. A series of Luxemburg 
emperors followed him on the throne from 1347 to 1437. 
After that period of almost a century, the crown passed 
permanently to members of the House of Hapsburg, who 
wore it until our own day. 

302. Charles IV (1347-1378) and the Golden Bull (1356). 
— Charles IV, like his Luxemburg predecessor Henry VII, 
made an expedition to Rome and received the imperial 
crown from papal legates. Under him and his immediate 
successors, Bohemia occupied a position of preeminence in 
the empire. It owed this distinction to the personal favor 
of the emperors and the financial resources which they 
derived from its flourishing mining industry. The kingdom 
became an important centre of material prosperity and 
intellectual progress, and in its capital, Prague, there was 
established in 1348 the first German university. 

Charles IV's reign was remarkable for the publication of 
the Golden Bull, an important constitutional document 
which received its seemingly ecclesiastical name from the 
golden case (bulla) in which the seal attached to the docu- 
ment was placed. The bull contained provisions on two 
important points: the imperial election and the rights of the 
electors. It fixed the nimiber of princes enjoying the right 
to vote in an imperial election at seven and ordained that a 
majority of suffrages decided the election. Three ecclesias- 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 2S9 

tical dignitaries and four lay lords formed the ajllege of 
the seven electors. The ecclesiastics were the Archbishops 
of Mainz, Treves and Cologne; the lay princes, the King of 
Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of 
Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg. The election 
was to be held in the city of Frankfort. 

The bull granted privileges of a wide scope and permanent 
nature to the electors. The inhabitants of their territories 
could no longer be cited before the emperor's tribunal, and 
no appeal was allowed from their courts to a higher one. 
The seven electors thus virtually became independent 
sovereigns in their own dominions. 

303. Growth of the Cities; Guilds; City Leagues. — At 
the time when the Golden Bull settled the question of the 
imperial succession and defined the rights of the electors, a 
new social power was growing and demanding recognition 
in Germany. The cities were acquiring wealth and steadily 
gaining influence. The more frequent commercial relations, 
rendered necessary by the Crusades, had turned greatly 
to their advantage. As the nobility considered it below its 
•position and dignity to engage in mercantile pursuits, trade 
was concentrated in the hands of the townspeople. The 
greater opportunities and growing wealth of the towns 
naturally attracted an ever-increasing number of workers. 
The population grew rapidly and to the divisions of society 
into princes, knights, and peasants was added a prosperous 
middle class represented by the townspeople. These 
newcomers in the social organism showed courage and 
ability in defending themselves and their interests. They 
secured important privileges and extensive freedom in the 
management of local affairs. The individual members of a 
particular trade, in a town, generally formed, for mutual 
protection, a union or guild, such as the guild of bakers, 
weavers and others. These organizations had their own 
statutes and were divided into three classes of persons : the 
apprentice, the journe\TTian and the master. The a])prentice 



290 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

was still learning the trade; the journeyman, after a pre- 
liminary training, was perfecting himself in the trade; 
and the master had fulfilled all the conditions required of 
one who wished to work independently. The economic, 
social, and spiritual interests of its members were carefully 
looked after by the guild, and no outsider was allowed to 
engage in the trade whose interests it was organized to de- 
fend. As their prosperity increased, the guilds demanded 
political recognition and a share in the government of the 
town. They met with opposition from the aristocracy, 
but, owing to their strength and persistence, succeeded in- 
variably in securing an equitable share in the local adminis- 
tration. They protected the rights and promoted the welfare 
of the otherwise helpless artisan and laborer, and contributed, 
in a large measure, to the prosperity of the towns. 

As the different classes of citizens united in self-defense, 
so the various towns formed leagues and alliances for the 
protection of their commerce. The most famous of these 
unions among cities was the Hanseatic League. This 
widespread organization included at the time of its greatest 
prosperity no less than ninety towns and exercized the 
powers of a sovereign state. It concluded treaties, occupied 
foreign territories, waged war, and for a long time controlled 
commerce in northern and eastern Europe. 

304. The Beginnings of Swiss Independence. — The in- 
dependent and democratic spirit, which was so evident in 
the town life of the period, manifested itself with still greater 
vigor in the Forest Cantons of Switzerland : Schwyz, Uri, 
and Unterwalden. These districts were originally under 
the feudal overlordship of the Counts of Hapsburg, but were 
granted, in the thirteenth century, the privilege of immediate 
dependence on the empire. This concession seemed to have 
lost much of its significance when in 1273 the Hapsburgs 
were raised to the imperial dignity. Under Rudolf, the 
first Hapsburg emperor, the rights of the Cantons, while 
not always explicitly recognized, were not directly interfered 



SPAIN, GERMANY. ITALY. AND TIIK EAST 201 

with. But, perceiving the danger of a situation in whicli 
imperial power and feudal overlordship were concentrated 
in the same hands. Uri, vSchwyz, and Unterwalden concluded 
in 1291 a "Perpetual League" that they might "better 
defend themselves and their own." This was the first step 
in that struggle for freedom, the results of which were to 
receive international sanction only centuries later. The 
League or Confederation gradually widened its territorial 
extent and increased its political influence by the accession 
of new cities and districts. It frequently offered armed 
resistance to the attempts of the Hapsburgs to enforce their 
feudal claims and resolute opposition to their aspirations 
for imperial honors, William Tell became the hero who, in 
popular legend, typified the struggle for freedom of the 
Swiss people, but who, in authentic history, must be denied 
all claim to real existence. 

305. The Victories of the Swiss at Morgarten (1315) and 
Sempach (1386); They win Complete Independence.— 
The opposition of the three Cantons to the Hapsburgs led 
to an attack on their territories by Duke Leopold in 1315. 
He advanced against them with an army of 15,000 men well 
trained in the art of war and commanded by the flower of 
the Austrian nobility. The Swiss confederates had been able 
to raise no more than 1,300 peasants against this formidable 
force. But a skilful use of the natural means of defense 
resulted not only in the defeat, but in the annihilation of 
the Austrians. They advanced imprudently into the Pass 
of Morgarten and were greeted by a hail of boulders and 
trees rolled down on them by the Swiss fighters. Some of 
them were killed or wounded and the others thrown into 
confusion. The Swiss profited by the disorder in the 
Austrian ranks, attacked them hand-t6-hand, and utterly 
destroyed the proud army of the Hapsburgs. 

Many years later in 1386 the battle of Sempach was 
fought under similar conditions and with the same result. 
Meantime the League had strengthened its internal organiza- 



292 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

tion and received new members. Lucerne joined it as the 
fourth Canton in 1332. Other districts followed in rapid 
succession, so that when in 1353 Berne entered into the 
alliance as the first city of western vSwitzerland, the mem- 
bership in the League was brought up to eight Cantons. 
This number was for over a century to remain unchanged. 
In 1415 the Swiss fought their last war with Austria and 
again issued victorious from the struggle. They now be- 
came completely independent of the Hapsburgs, but were 
still under the supreme, though hardly recognized, control 
of the emperor. An attempt to exercize his authority was 
made by the latter in 1499. It led to a bloody war in which 
the Swiss Confederation again emerged victorious. This 
triumph put an end to all imperial authority, but the in- 
dependence of Switzerland was formally recognized only in 
1648 at the Peace of Westphalia. 

III. Italy 

306. General Features of the History of Italy. -Italy 
witnessed in the Middle Ages the establishment and growth 
of city-republics famous for their democratic spirit, political 
institutions, artistic development, and remarkable progress 
in civilization. The country was preeminently the centre 
of culture among Christian nations, but was hopelessly 
divided in politics and ostensibly devoid of all talent for 
practical organization. It comprised five leading states: 
the three City-Republics of Florence, Venice and Milan, the 
Kingdom of Naples and the Papal States. Besides these 
greater political divisions, many lesser i^rincipalities or 
territories existed in the peninsula. All of these states, 
great and small, were exceedingly jealous of their rights, 
and intense rivalry and frequent wars embittered their 
mutual relations. The history of Italy in the fourteenth 
and fifteenth centuries is filled with endless accounts of 
internecine strife, petty quarrels, and unseemly feuds. 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 293 

The fact that the peaceful arts made such ast(jun(Hni,' 
progress, amidst these dissensions and struj^^^lcs, could 
hardly be accounted for were it not that the Italian wars 
usually consisted in "a large armament, much marching to 
and fro, an occasional siege, infinite negotiation, frequent 
treachery, and very little bloodshed." 

307. The City-State of Florence.- -Florence became a 
flourishing centre of the textile industry, and this industry 
led to the establishment of extensive commercial relations 
with foreign countries. The woolen goods, roughly worked 
in Flanders, were especially treated, dyed, and finished at 
Florence. The fabrics thus produced by skilful workman- 
ship were known the world over, fetched high prices every- 
where, and enriched their makers. As the city depended 
on industry and commerce for its prosperity, it needed peace 
for the undisturbed development of the sources of its wealth- 
Peace was likely to be maintained by the interesteci artisans 
and merchants rather than by the turbulent aristocratic 
element. As a result, representatives of the industrial and 
commercial classes, which were strongly organized in the 
merchants' and crafts' guilds, were called to the government 
in preference to the nobility. This democratic spirit, which 
placed the lower many above the higher few, was so pro- 
nounced that when the government was entrusted to one 
official, a foreigner, that is, a non-Florentine Italian, was 
appointed, because he was less hkely to become a despot and 
could be more easily deposed in case of abuse of power. 

Despite its democratic government and its interest in \hc 
maintenance of peace, Florence waged numerous wars. It 
fought against the emperors, against neighboring cities, and 
also suffered from party struggles within its own walls. 
But these conflicts disturbed the life of the community 
much less 'than one would at first be inclined to suppose; 
for the fighting was frequently done by hired soldiers, the 
so-called Free Companies, and not !)>' the republic's own 
citizens. \ Had it been otherwise, the city's nourishing com- 



294 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

merce would have suffered irreparable loss, and the produc- 
tion of its artistic and literary masterpieces would have 
been impossible. Its goods enjoyed a universal reputation 
for excellence, its bankers enormously furthered commercial 
intercourse by developing the system of bills of exchange, 
and, in a period of debased coinage, its gold florin ever 
retained its high value and became the standard for coinage 
elsewhere. Under the pressure of business and the love of 
gain, the political institutions underwent a gradual change, 
and the native family of the Medici gained absolute control 
of the government. But even under them the democratic 
forms were retained in appearance, and the new rulers added 
by their munificence and talent new lustre to the prestige 
of the great city-republic. 

308. The Republic of Venice; Its Government. — Venice 
owed its origin to the hardy pioneers who, in time of distress, 
sought safety from foreign invaders in the lagoons of the 
Adriatic. The city placed itself at an early date under the 
government of a doge or duke. It retained this official 
throughout its independent existence, but very much re- 
stricted his power in the Middle Ages. Surrounded by 
great external pomp he represented the majesty, but did 
not control the government of the republic. The adminis- 
tration was in the hands of the influential families repre- 
sented in the Great Council. This body was organized in 
1172, retained in its own hands the real power, and rose in 
1510 to the high membership of sixteen hundred and seventy- 
one. Such a numerous assembly was, of course, unwieldy 
as an executive body, and frequently delegated its authority 
to small commissions, the most famous of which was the 
"Council of Ten." The "Ten" was first created in 1310 
as a temporary expedient, but became in 133vS a permanent 
institution. Its function was to deal with all matters 
affecting the welfare of the state, and, although it always 
retained an extrac(jnstitutional character, it actually governed 
the republic in place of the doge and Great Council. 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 295 

309. Venice: Foreign Relations.— The Venetian Republic 

was essentially a maritime state, and its geographical posi- 
tion furnishes the key to its history in prosperity and decline. 
It needed freedom of intercourse and control of communica- 
tion with the outside world and secured these advantages by 
looking chiefly to the East for opportunity and commerce. 
The city became the queen of the Adriatic, and the republic 
was long predominant in the eastern Mediterranean. The 
Venetian settlements along the Adriatic, in Greece, and in 
the Levant were numerous and important. The re[)ublic 
became the greatest sea power of the time, but had to defend 
this supremacy against the rising state of Genoa. The 
Genoese, like the Venetians, entertained important com- 
mercial relations with the East, and rival interests, as 
generally happens, led to frequent recriminations and open 
war. The contest for supremacy was decided against 
Genoa in the war of Chioggia (1378-13vS0), so called from a 
place near Venice where the final action was fought. Genoa 
now placed itself under the overlordship and protection of 
Milan and shared the vicissitudes of the latter's wars with 
the Venetian republic. The struggle between these two — 
Milan and Venice — was partly due to Venice's eflforts to 
insure her own safety against land attack and to control 
the means of communication with the North. The contest, 
although bitter and protracted, was less decisive in her 
history than her position at sea. The maritime question 
was to be the cause of her decline, as it had been the source 
of her prosperity. Two events of world-wide importance, 
the capture of Constantinople and the discovery of America, 
affected her overseas relations in a most disadvantageous 
manner and thereby brought about her decline. The 
republic maintained itself until the sword of Bonaparte 
struck it the deathblow; but during the last centuries of its 
existence it retained only a shadow of its fonncr greatness. 

310. Milan, the Visconti and Sforza.— Milan had occulted 
a position of leadership in the resistance of the Italian com- 



296 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

munes to imperial domination. When the battle against 
the foreigner was won, popular influence gradually declined 
in the government, and the city became more aristocratic 
and Ghibelline than democratic and Guelf. Favorably 
situated in the rich Lombard plain, she valued territorial 
possessions higher than commercial advantages and industrial 
progress, and persistently endeavored to increase her holdings 
in northern Italy. This policy of expansion brought her 
into frequent conflicts with the other Italian states, notably 
Venice and Florence. But the Visconti, who furnished the 
first series of rulers to the Milanese state, were not men to be 
easily deterred by opposition, and, amidst considerable 
difficulties, achieved noteworthy success. vSo high was the 
prestige of the state which they ruled that royal houses 
considered it no disgrace to contract matrimonial alliances 
with them. The Visconti were succeeded in 1450 by the 
Sforza. The latter 's first representative in the government 
was of obscure origin; but soon the Sforza, as formerly the 
Visconti, associated on a footing of equality with the reigning 
houses of Europe. Ludovico Sforza began in the year 1492 
those negotiations which led to the French expeditions to 
Italy described in a previous chapter. The date is worth 
remembering in Italian history not only because of the event 
just mentioned, but also because it was the year of Lorenzo 
de Medici's death at Florence, of Pope Alexander VI's 
accession to the papacy at Rome, and of Columbus the 
Genoese's discovery of America. 

311. Naples and Sicily. — Conditions in southern Italy 
differed in many important respects from the situation in 
the north. While in the north the cities were the units of 
political life, they held, in the sotith, no such position. The 
south had for generations been under imperial domination; 
the north had never recognized the emperor's authority for 
any length of time. The south was under the suzerainty of 
the Pope; the north had never accepted such dependence. 
The papal overlordship was not without practical influence 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THK EAST 297 

on the affairs of the country. Its exercize in the bestowal 
of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily on Charles of Anjou 
caused the complete destruction of imjierial power in the 
south of Italy. After this introduction of a new dynast >'. 
the Popes always supported the French against the opi)onents 
to Angevin rule. While formerly the kingdom was a bone 
of contention between Popes and emperors, it was for many 
years, beginning with the middle of the thirteenth century, 
an apple of discord between the three Houses of Anjou, of 
Aragon, and of Hungary. The first-named held its authority 
through the papal appointment; the second derived its 
claims from the Hohenstaufen, to whom it was related; 
the third based its rights on a matrimonial alliance with the 
Angevins. 

How very unpopular French rule was in Sicily is evidenced 
by the SicilianVespers, a term which designates the massacre 
of the French inhabitants in the island at the hour of \^espers 
on Easter Monday, 1282. This terrible slaughter of over 
8,000 victims put an end to French power in Sicily. The 
island was lost to the Angevins, passed under the jurisdic- 
tion of the House of Aragon, and was until 1713 under 
Spanish rule. As for Naples, it remained subject to 
Charles of Anjou, who handed it down to his son. In the 
fourteenth century the Angevin rights were, owing to 
matrimonial alliances, complicated by Hungarian claims, 
and bitter quarrels ensued for the possession of the crown. 
More settled conditions returned only in 1442, when Alfonso 
V of Aragon united Naples \vith his Kingdom of Sicily. 
After that date several brilliant attempts were made by the 
French to recover Naples, but they were never cro\ynedwith 
lasting success. The authority of the Spanish claimants 
was gradually asserted and was recognized both in the 
island and on the mainland. 

312. The Papal States.— Aside froni the extraordinary 
authoritv enjo\'ed b\- its ruler, the papal territory had this 
advantage over the other Italian states, that its go\-ernment 



298 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

pursued a traditional and well-defined policy. The papacy's 
primary aim was the independence of its spiritual authority. 
Such freedom was contingent on its possession of temporal 
sovereignty. That crude age, which was affected so much 
by symbols, but little respected any authority unsupported 
by material force. Even spiritual rule had to be made 
apparent and tangible by outward splendor and external show 
of power. The Popes, conscious of this medieval spirit, 
energetically defended their position as temporal rulers. 
Not only did they strive to ward off all encroachments on 
their dominion, but they offered an uncompromising opposi- 
tion to the union of North and South Italy under one au- 
thority. Their efforts produced very satisfactory results; 
for, even during their residence abroad and the turmoil 
attending the Great Schism, the Church's temporal posses- 
sions were not seriously infringed upon. Cola di Rienzi 
could indeed, harking back to classical times, proclaim in 
1347 a Roman republic, but the rule of the fiery tribune 
was short-lived and entailed no permanent loss to the papal 
territory. Cardinal Albornoz, priest, soldier, and statesman 
all in one, reconquered by severe repression or saved by 
judicious compromise the districts which, following Rome's 
example, had broken away from papal authority. He it 
was who gave the States of the Church that constitution 
and organization under which they lived until the nine- 
teenth century. He displayed in the framing of this docu- 
ment, as in the reconquest of disaffected territories, a pro- 
nounced sense of the rights of the Holy See and a wise spirit 
of concessions to popular sentiment. The papacy did not 
destroy in its own dominions the liberty and independence 
which, in bitter conflict with the emperors, it had saved to 
the rest of Italy. Its government was, generally speaking, 
carried on by churchmen in mild and indulgent fashion and 
was more calculated to promote happiness than efficiency 
and rigorous observance of detailed rules. The individual 
cities rather freely managed their own affairs and, both at 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE EAST 2W 

home and abroad, the papacy continued to be the courageous 
defender of popular rights and the great representati\'c of 
democratic tendencies and aspirations. 

IV. The East: Greeks, Slavs and Turks 

313. The Eastern or Byzantine Empire. — Although the 
Eastern Empire outlasted the Western by a thousand \'ears. 
it was never without foes bent on its destruction. The 
Teutonic barbarians had assailed it before they established 
themselves on the ruins of the western world. The Persians, 
by their ever-recurring incursions, had rendered life and 
property insecure on its eastern frontier until they were 
themselves reduced to subjection by the Saracens. The 
Arabs had overrun it from the south and occupied some of 
its most flourishing provinces. Their conquests were 
later taken over and extended into the very heart of Asia 
Minor by the Seljukian Turks who, in their turn, were to be 
supplanted by their Ottoman kinsmen. In Europe, the 
Slavs, moving southward, occupied several imperial pro- 
vinces, and in the fourteenth century threatened Constan- 
tinople itself. They founded new states in the Balkans in 
which Greek influence became predominant, just as Latin 
culture had chiefly spread among the Teutonic invaders. 

314. Divisions and Advance of the Slavs. — The Slavs are 
generally divided into three great groups: (1) The eastern 
group formed by the Rtissians; (2) the northwestern group, 
composed principally of Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks: and (M 
the southern group, including the Slovenes, Croatians, and 
Serbs. The northwestern and southern Slavs alone have to 
be considered in the present discussion. At the migration 
of the nations, they pressed forward into the territories 
abandoned bv the Germans. Meeting in the Carpathian 
mountains a strong natiu-al obstacle which Ixirred then- 
advance, thev split into two bodies and proceeded m two 
different directions. The northwestern Slax's ach'anced 



300 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

northward as far as the Baltic Sea and westward into the 
very heart of Germany. The southern Slavs, or, as they are 
now frequently called, the Jugo-Slavs, moved toward the 
provinces of the Eastern Empire. In the seventh century 
they established themselves permanently in the Balkan 
peninsula and took possession of all the territory extending 
from the south of Hungary to Greece and the Adriatic. 
They were converted to Christianity by western missionaries, 
but only some of them, like the Croatians, have remained 
subject to the Holy See and attached to the Catholic faith; 
the others, for example the Serbians, yielding to Greek 
influences, separated from Rome and belong to the Orthodox 
Church. In the same century as the Slavs, an Asiatic 
tribe, the Bulgarians, advanced into the Balkan peninsula. 
In the course of time these newcomers so completely lost 
their racial identity that they are now commonly reckoned 
as a Slavic people. 

The Bulgarians and the Serbians formed in southeastern 
Europe a state, which was of considerable extent, but of short 
duration. The greatest Serbian king was Stephen Dushan 
(1331-1355), who planned the creation of an immense 
Oriental empire with Constantinople as his capital. He 
undertook thirteen campaigns against this city, advanced 
to its very gates, but died before he could effect its capture. 
Constantinople was to succumb only a century later, and 
then to Turkish assailants advancing from the east. 

315. The Ottoman Turks; their Origin and Name; the 
Janissaries. — To the many races represented in southeastern 
Europe was to be added, in the fourteenth century, still 
another, the Ottoman Turks. They derived their name of 
Ottomans or Osmanli from their first independent leader 
Othman (1288-1326). They were Asiatics, like the Sel- 
jukian Turks, who had preceded them westward and whose 
battles they fought for a short time. When, about the year 
1300, the general dissolution of the Seljukian dominions 
set in, they became independent and acquired extensive 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY. AND THE EAST 301 

territory in Asia Minor. Essentially a race of conquerors, 
they quickly extended their power to neij^^hborinj^ lands and 
as early as 1326 captured Brusa. This city, situated in 
dangerous proximity to Constantinople, became the Asiatic 
capital of the Turks. 

Othman's successor, Orchan (1326-1359), organized the 
newly conquered lands and strengthened the army. He 
secured new recruits for the latter by a novel system of 
levies. The Koran offered the alternative of conversion or 
tribute to unbelievers. The Christians who remained stead- 
fast in their faith could purchase religious freedom by a 
stipulated pa^nnent in goods or money. Orchan introduced 
the custom of exacting a tribute also in children. Christian 
villages were compelled to furnish annually a fixed number 
of the healthiest boys to the Turkish conquerors. These 
children, about eight years old at their surrender, were 
reared in the Mohammedan religion and carefully trained 
for service to the state. As they grew older, they were, 
according to their qualifications and dispositions, employed 
in the civil administration or drafted for military duty. 
In both services they w^re under the absolute control of the 
sultan and were of inestimable value to the government. 
In the army they formed the crack corps of the Janissaries 
or new troops, a body famous for its fanaticism and unsur- 
passed as a fighting unit. 

316. The Turks cross into Europe (1354).— It was under 
Orchan that the Turks passed into Europe and established 
themselves permanently on that continent. Profiting by 
the confusion caused by an earthquake in Thrace, they seized 
GallipoH, fortified it, and used the stronghold as a base of 
operations for further conquests. Murad I (1359-1389) 
added city after city to his dominions and in 1361 captured 
Adrianople, which, until the fall of Constantinople, formed 
the capital of European Turkey. He advanced mto the 
country of the southern Slavs, but met with a mc^-e deter- 
mined resistance from them than from the degenerate 



302 TTTE CTTRTSTIAN ERA 

Greeks. The King of the Servians, Lazarus, collected a 
large army for the expulsion of the invader. On the historic 
field of the Blackbirds at Kossovo, he met a Turkish host 
inferior in numbers, but superior in training and organization. 
The Serbians were routed and their king slain (1389). The 
assassination of Murad by a Serbian nobleman after the 
battle did not improve the position of the Serbians nor 
weaken the Turkish power. Serbia was reduced to subjec- 
tion, Bulgaria annexed, and the Turkish dominions extended 
to the Danube. An attempt of King Sigismund to bring 
relief to the vanquished Serbians only served to add another 
tritimph to the constantly increasing number of Turkish 
successes. The Christian army was annihilated at Nicopolis 
in 1396. 

317. Attacks on Constantinople; Its Fall in 1453.— The 
Turkish advance in Europe constantly increased the danger 
to Constantinople, which was, after a time, hemmed in on 
all sides. The city was repeatedly but unsuccessfully at- 
tacked in the closing years of the fourteenth century. In 
1402 a regular siege was undertaken and seemed to promise 
definitive success, when the Turkish besiegers had to abandon 
the operations to meet a formidable enemy elsewhere. The 
great conqueror, Timour or Tamerlane, starting from central 
Asia, had proceeded westward and invaded the Turkish 
dominions. The Ottoman power was itself menaced with 
instant destruction and summoned all its defenders against 
the advancing foe. At Angora in Asia Minor they fought to 
stem the victorious advance of Timour, but suffered a 
crushing defeat (1402). Turks and Greeks seemed to be at 
the mercy of the conqueror, but Timour, more gratified at 
the victory than covetous of territory, retreated eastward 
and died shortly after (1405). The Turks were given time 
to recover and to reestablish their shattered power in Asia 
Minor. But a new attempt which they made in 1422 to 
conquer Constantinople had to be abandoned to cope with a 
rebellion in Asia. 



SPAIN, OERArANY, ITALY, AND TIIF. F.AST .lO."? 

In Spite of this relief due to unforeseen circumstances it was 
obvious that the imperial capital was in constant danger, and 
the Greeks resorted to strange expedients to secure the sorely- 
needed military assistance for its defense. In the hoi)e of 
obtaining help they even concluded at the Council of Ferrara- 
Florence (1438-1439), a rehgious union with the Holy See 
which was, however, no more lasting than its motive was 
sincere. As no western soldiers were forthcoming in grateful 
recognition of the renunciation of the schism, the union was 
again dissolved. 

A final successful attack on Constantinople was made in 
1453. The city was defended by the Genoese and Venetians 
rather than by the Greeks themselves. Both Italian peoples 
desired, for commercial reasons, the continuance of Greek 
rule, but neither could prevent the fall of the city into 
Turkish hands. The Ottoman troops under their Sultan, 
Mohammed II (1451-1481), made their entry into Con- 
stantinople on May 29, 1453. Under Turkish rule the 
Church of St. Sophia, that most remarkable monument of 
Christian architecture, was converted into a mosque. 

318. Results of the Fall of Constantinople; New Turkish 
Successes. — The Christian world was aghast at the news thai 
the strong capital of the Eastern Empire had fallen into the 
hands of the Infidel. The Pope put forth vigorous efforts 
to rouse the w^estern princes to a sense of their danger, but 
met with Httle response. France and England had just 
concluded the Hundred Years' War and were loath to 
engage in new fighting abroad. Germany was too dis- 
tracted by internal turmoil to be of any real service, and the 
Italian repubHcs, Genoa and Venice, more bent on trade than 
zealous for the Christian faith, hastened to secure trading 
privileges from the new masters of Constantinople. Hungary 
alone, more directly menaced than other states, offered 
armed resistance to the Ottoman hordes. There the cele- 
brated John Hunyadi, who had already performed prodigies 
of valor, still animated the courage of the Christian waiTiors. 



304 THE CPIRISTIAN ERA 

Encouraged by his example and fired by the preaching of 
St. John Capistran, a strong army advanced against the 
Turks who were besieging Belgrade. It forced them not 
only to raise the siege, but also to retreat in a southerly 
direction (1456). This signal success saved Hungary from 
serious danger, but failed to rescue the Balkan states from 
Turkish oppression. As both Hunyadi and Capistran died 
soon after the victory, the Christian efforts against the 
common enemy were not long sustained. Checked at this 
point the Turks turned their efforts elsewhere, and even 
landed in 1480 a force at Otranto in southern Italy. They 
now seemed to menace Rome itself, but again abandoned 
this outlying post in the following year. At the beginning 
of the sixteenth centiu-y they added Egypt, Syria, and 
Mesopotamia to their vast empire. Masters of northern 
Africa, western Asia and southeastern Europe, they remained 
for many years a menace to western Christendom. 

Bibliography 
I. vSpain: Burke, U. R., A History of Spain from the Earliest Times 
to the Death of Ferdinand the Catholic. (Longmans, 
New York, 1895.) 
Chapman, C. E., A History of Spain. (Macmillan, New 

York, 1918.) 
Clarke, H. B., The Cid Campeador. (Putnam, New York, 

1897. 
Hefele-Dalton, Cardinal Ximenez. (Catholic Publication 

Co., London, 1885.) 
Prescott, W. H., History of the Reign of Ferdinand and 

Isabella. (Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1902.) 
Watts, H. E., The Christian Recovery of Spain, 711-1492. 
(Putnam, New York, 1894.) 
. Cermany: Brooks, R. C, Government and Politics of Switzerland. 
(World Book Co., New York, 1918.) 
Janssen-Mitchell-Christie, History of the German People 
at the Close of the Middle Ages. 16 vols. (Herder, 
St. Louis, 1905-1910, Vols. I and IL) 
Johnson, A. H., Europe in the Sixteenth Century, 1494- 

1598. (Rivingtons, London, 1900.) 
Zimmern, H., The Hansa Tmvns. (Putnam, New 
York, 1907.) 



SPAIN, GERMANY, ITALY, AND THK EAST .>()5 

III. Italy: Emcvion,E., The Bcginniji^s of Modrrn Fjiropr, 1250 1450. 

(Ginn, New York, 1917.) 

Hazlitt, W. E., The Venetian Republic Us Rise, ItsCrmclh 
and Its Fall, 421-1797. 2 vols. (4Lh Edit. Hlack. 
London, 1915.) 

Noyes, E., The Story of Milan. (Dent., London, 1908.) 

Oliphant, Mrs., The Makers of Florence. (New York Pub- 
lishing Co., New York, no date.) 

Idem., The Makers of Modern Rome. (Macmillan, New 
York, 1896.) 

Sismondi-Boulting, History of the Italian Republics in the 
Middle Ages. (Dutton, New York, 1906.) 

Waern, C, Mediaeval Sicily. (Duckworth, London, 1910.) 

IV. The East: Freeman, E. A., The Ottoman Power in Europe: Its 

Nature, its Growth and its Decline. (Macmilhin, Lon- 
.don, 1877.) 

Lane-Poole, S., The Story of Turkey. (Putnam, New York, 
1888.) 

Miller, W., The Balkan States. (Putnam, New York, 1896. j 

Murray, W, S., The Making of the Balkan States. (Long- 
mans, New York, 1910.) 

Oman, C, Story of the Byzantine Empire. (Putnam, New 
York, 1892.) 

Historical Novels 

Currier, Bishop, C. W., Dimitrios and Irene. (Gallery, Baltimore, 

1893.) 
Idem., The Rose of Alhama. (New York, 1898.) 
Sienkiewicz, H., The Knights of the Cross. (Fenno, New York, 1899.) 



CHAPTER XXll 

INVENTIONS, DISCOVERIES; THE RENAISSANCE IN ART AND 

LETTERS 

I. Inventions and Discoveries 

319. The Invention of Gunpowder. — Gunpowder was 
among the important inventions which were put to general 
practical use during this period. Pit caused profound changes 
not only in military organization but also in the social life 
of the time. Its invention, however, cannot with certainty 
be claimed for this period.,^ The merit of the discovery has 
been ascribed by some to the Chinese, who are said to have 
known gunpowder in the third century of the Christian 
era. ^' Its introduc^on into Europe, it is claimed, followed 
two centuries latery A¥hiie"these-contentions are plausible, 
it-can be definitely stated only that \Berihold Schwarz (flour- 
ished about 1245) and Roger Bacon (1246-1294) the former 
a German, the latter an English Franciscan Friar, were 
acquainted with some of the properties of gunpowder. 
Their knowledge, however, may have been derived from 
written documents and not from original experiment^ fin 
the fourteenth century, gunpowder was used first in heavy 
guns and then in small arms handled by foot soldiers. The 
decisive value of infantry had been demonstrated in the 
wars of the Swiss against the House of Hapsburg and in 
other conflicts. It was further enhanced by the use of 
gunpowder, which rapidly became general. The infantry 
furnished the sinews of the new battles; while the mailed 
chivalry, skilled in hand-to-hand fighting, played a secondary 
role. The peasant could as a soldier render services equal 
or superior to those of the knight, and the armies were 
gradually formed by mercenaries rather than vassals. The 
military and social position of the lesser nobility was thus 
adversely affected and the knell of feudal institutions 
306 



INVENTIONS. DISCOVKRIKS; RK NAISSAXCK .^07 

sounded. The castles of the knights ceased in l,c ilu- im- 
pregnable strongholds of old, as their thick walls cnimhlcd t<. 
pieces under the fire of new engines of attack.) 

320. The Use of Paper and the Invention of the Printing 
Press^The reproduction of old manuscripts and the 
propagation of new Hterature were enormously facilitated 
by the general use of paper and the invention of the printing 
press. ^For centuries parchment, an expensive material, 
had been chiefly used for writing purposes in western Euroi^c. 
Gradually paper, the discovery of which, like that of gun- 
powder, has been attributed to the Chinese, became known 
and was substituted. Produced from linen rags, it was 
inexpensive and could be easily manufactured. It came 
into general use in the west in the fourteenth century.*) 

The adoption of paper as writing material was soon 
followed by the invention of the printing press. The im- 
portance of the new discovery consisted in the substitution 
of movable metallic types for the fixed, wooden characters 
in the reproduction of writing. While in the fixed system a 
new type was necessary for every new reproduction, an 
indefinite number of letters could be printed from one 
movable character. The expensive manuscripts of the 
Middle Ages were thus replaced by books which could be 
purchased at a much lower price. 

The reputed author of the discovery was John (hiicnbcrg 
(about 1398-1468), a native of Mainz in western Cjcrmany. 
He seems to have made his first attempts at reproducing 
writing according to this new process at Strasburg. About 
1450 he set up his first printing press at Mainz. But the 
enterprise was more beneficial to posterity than profitable 
to himself. He became involved in financial difficulties, 
was prosecuted in the law-courts, and the invention was 
taken over and developed by others. Hailed by ecclesiastics 
as a potent means of promoting the salvation of man. the 
art was accorded generous protection, rapidly gained favor, 
particularly in monasteries, and spread fn^m (icnrany to 



308 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

other countries. It was first introduced into England by 
William Caxton, who set up a printing press in Westminster 
Abbey about 1471. The Latin Bible was the first book 
printed by Gutenberg, a fact which disproves the oft- 
repeated tale that the Catholic Church withheld the Scrip- 
tures from the people and discouraged the reading of God's 
Word. 

The earliest specimens of printing, now known as 
iMcunabula, were executed with minute care, and their high 
quality still compels our admiration. The same standard of 
excellence was long maintained; but in the seventeenth 
century a period of decline set in and continued throughout 
the eighteenth century. Only by a return to the esthetic 
principles of the old masters and the use of more perfect 
technical processes did the printer's art attain the high 
grade of excellence which it has reached in the present age. 

321. The Italians in Geographical Science; Marco Polo 
(1254-1324). — As the Italians were the greatest seafaring 
people, so they were long the leaders in geographical dis- 
covery or research. "Educated men from Venice, Genoa, 
Pisa and Florence emigrated to other lands, carrying with 
them science, skill and ingenuity unknown except in the 
advanced and enterprising Italian city-republics and prin- 
cipalities. Italian mathematicians made the calculations on 
which all navigation was based; Italian cartographers drew 
maps and charts; Italian ship-builders designed and built 
the best vessels of the time; Italian captains commanded 
them, and very often Italian sailors made up their crews; 
while at least in the earlier period Italian bankers advanced 
the funds with which the expeditions were equipped and 
sent out."^ 

Among the most renowned travellers and explorers was 
the Venetian Marco Polo, who began in 1271 with his father 
and uncle a journey to the court of the Chinese Emperor 



Cheyncy, The European Background of American History, p. 42. 



INVENTIONS, DlSCOVERlIis; KKNAlSSANll- M)i} 

Kublai. Taken into his service by the latter, he was en- 
trusted with important offices, sent on official missions, 
and was the first European to enjoy extraordinary oppor- 
tunities of visiting and studying numerous parts of China 
and the Far East. After spending seventeen years in the 
emperor's service, he returned to Italy, where he arrived in 
1298. The very year of his return he was captured in a 
war between Venice and Genoa and, during his enforced 
idleness in a Genoese prison, dictated to a fellow captive 
with writing propensities, an account of his travels in Asia. 
The work caused a great sensation among the learned public 
and aroused extraordinary interest in the wonders of the 
East. Although not accepted at the time as a reliable 
narrative, it left minds in a state of unsatisfied curiosity 
which encouraged further research and new journe>'s. Its 
accuracy, groundlessly impugned, was confirmed by Catholic 
missionaries and subsequent travellers. The publication 
produced results of inestimable value, for it incited the 
Portuguese to seek and find a new route to the East around 
the Cape of Good Hope and stirred in Columbus that passion 
for discovery which produced such momentous results. 

322. Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) and the 
Portuguese. — The founder of Portuguese sea power and 
colonial dominion was Prince Henry, sumamed the Naviga- 
tor. He belonged to the reigning House of Portugal and, as 
a young man, distinguished himself by his gallantry in the 
wars against the Moors both in Europe and Africa. Re- 
nouncing the profession of arms, he gave himself up to nau- 
tical studies and exploration. He founded an observatory 
and established a school for the study of the sciences useful 
to navigation. His absorbing ambition was the discovery 
of unknown worlds and their conversion to the Catholic 
faith. The desire to spread Christianity was the leading 
motive which impelled him and many contemporary naviga- 
tors to organize or undertake voyages of discovery. Henry's 
plan was not only to explore the coast of Africa, but also to 



310 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

conquer the land and open it to Christian missionaries. He 
trained a whole body of mariners and explorers and, beginning 
with 1416, fitted out almost every year an expedition to 
West Africa. The early voyages were carried out at his 
personal expense; later, societies were founded which pro- 
vided the necessary funds. The prince's efforts were crowned 
with considerable success; during his lifetime the Azores 
and Madeira islands were discovered and the West African 
Coast explored as far south as Sierra Leone. 

323. New Portuguese Discoveries; Colonization. — The 
tireless and systematic efforts of Henry the Navigator 
effected a thorough change in the national ideals, aims, and 
aspirations of the Portuguese. Up to this time a nation of 
soldiers and Crusaders, they became now explorers and 
colonizers. The successes attained during the lifetime of 
Henry spurred them on to new undertakings after his 
death. Portuguese mariners continued to creep southward 
along the west coast of Africa, and their j^erseverance was 
rewarded by the discovery of a new route to the east. In 
1486 Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope 
and proceeded some distance northward along the eastern 
coast of the Dark Continent. About ten years later Vasco 
da Gama, following the road pointed out by the discoverer, 
reached the harbor of Calicut in India and founded a new 
colony. The Portuguese establishments in India and 
farther east became numerous under the soldier and or- 
ganizer, Afonso Albuquerque. As second Viceroy of the 
colony, he strove to attain a threefold end, viz., the military 
security of the new settlements, Portuguese commercial 
supremacy, and the conversion of the natives. A true 
Crusader, but exacting official, he rendered inestimable 
services to his country and built in the capital of the colony, 
Goa, the church of the Blessed Virgin which has been styled 
"the Cradle of Christianity, not only in India, but in all 
East Asia." 

324. Christopher Columbus (about 1446-1506) and His 




Christopher Columbus 



INVENTIONS, discoveries; RENAISSANllC Sll 

Plan of Discovery.— Christopher Columluis was l)f)rn at 
Genoa in Italy about 1446. His parents were weavers, 
and for a while he followed the same trade. Little definite 
information about his early life and edueation has reached 
us. He probably did not attend any hip^her school of learn- 
ing, but mastered the Latin language and was exceedingly 
well read in all matters pertaining to the art of navigation. 
About the year 1471 he went to Portugal, then the leading 
country in maritime exploration. Several voyages made in 
Portuguese ships south to Guinea and north to the British 
Isles, added experience and practical knowledge to the 
theoretical information he had derived from books. He 
was undoubtedly well prepared for the role of explorer, but 
explorers w^ere not uncommon in his day. His grand title 
to fame rests on the fact that he gave a new aim to the 
voyages of discovery, viz., the finding of a road to the lands 
of the east by sailing westward. After the fall of Con- 
stantinople in 1453, the overland routes to the Orient had 
been abandoned by commerce, because they were not 
sufficiently safe. The Portuguese had sought a new road 
in a northeasterly and southeasterly direction, but had for a 
long time met with insignificant success. Columbus b\' his 
reading and studies had convinced himself that the wonderful 
countries of the east could be reached by steering a westerly 
course. The motive which impelled him to seek this new 
passage was not the acquisition of fabulous wealth, but the 
desire to make known the Christian faith to the inhabitants 
of these lands whose ruler had applied to the Holy See for 
missionaries. 

325. Columbus appeals to several European Courts for 
jjelp^ — Too poor himself to fit out an expedition, he laid 
his plan before the King of Portugal with a request for 
financial assistance (1484). With this step began that 
series of requests for help addressed to European rulers b\- 
the great navigator. In Portugal the project was con- 
sidered a fantastic dream and its author turned away. \\c 



312 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

proceeded to Spain in 1485, but here also both the nobiHty 
and the court long remained deaf to his pleadings. His 
scheme was submitted to two Spanish commissions of 
experts, but was rejected by both. It met with no more 
favorable reception from the practical Henry VH of England, 
or the adventurous Charles VIII of France, upon whose 
consideration it was urged by Columbus' brother. As a 
last resort, Columbus decided to leave Spain and renew the 
appeal to the King of France. He was about to carry out 
this plan when he stopped one day at the Franciscan Friary 
of La Rabida in Andalusia. The brief stay in this hospitable 
house was to be the turning point in his career. Its prior 
John Perez, confessor to the Queen, evinced a lively interest 
in his project and asked the stranger to remain until one 
more request had been addressed to the court. The friar's 
pressing appeal was favorably Hstened to and assistance 
was at last granted to Columbus. 

326. Columbus' First Voyage and the Discovery of 
America (1492). — Three ships were fitted out in the harbor 
of Palos for the voyage. Columbus personally bore one- 
eighth of the expense, and the remainder of the necessary 
funds was contributed by the Crown of Castile. An agree- 
ment signed before his departure stipulated that he was to 
be viceroy and governor general of all the lands he might 
discover. After invoking, like a true Christian knight, the 
protection of God on his undertaking, he sailed from Palos 
on August 3, 1492, in command of three caravels. They 
were but a short time at sea when one of the ships lost its 
helm, and the expedition was forced to refit in the Canaries. 
After spending about a month in making the necessary 
repairs, it proceeded westward. Things went smoothly 
during the early part of the voyage, but as day after day 
passed and the land, so hopefully promised, did not appear, 
some among the crew gave open expression to their dis- 
content and desire to turn back. Columbus, however, 
was no m.ore intimidated by disaffection than he had been 



INVENTIONS, DISCOVKRIKS; RK XAISSAXCI': ^\^ 

discouraged by rebuffs in his picas for assistance. 11^ 
continued to steer a westward course and on October 12, 
1492, sighted land. He had discovered one of the Bahama 
islands, which he called San Salvador, and of which he took 
possession in the name of Jesus Christ and of Spain. Ujxjn 
information from the natives that to the southward lay a 
land rich in gold, he proceeded in that direction and dis- 
covered Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti). Leaving in Haiti 
some men of his crew, he returned to Spain, where he was 
received amidst great popular rejoicing. The court con- 
ferred the highest honors on him naming him Grand Admiral 
and appointing him viceroy of the colony. 

327. Discovery of New Lands by Columbus; His Death 
(1506). — After his first epoch-making discovery Colunilnis 
undertook three more voyages. The second lasted from 
1493 to 1496 and is memorable for the discovery of the 
Lesser Antilles, Porto Rico, and Jamaica. Cuba was visited 
and a new settlement established at Haiti, where the Sj^an- 
iards left behind by Columbus had been massacred. During 
the admiral's absence in the New World, envious intriguers 
undermined his position at court and, to vindicate himself, 
he returned to Spain. He regained the royal favor more Yyy 
valuable presents than by eloquent pleading and in 149S 
left on a new journey of exploration. This third voyage 
resulted in the discovery of the South American continent, 
but ended in a tragic manner for Columbus himself. His 
administration, as viceroy, was severely criticized 1)\- the 
Spanish settlers at Haiti, and some of them openh' defied his 
authority. To put an end to an ugly situation he requested 
that an umpire be sent to the island by the Spanish court. 
A commissioner, with plenary royal power, was ai)i)ointed 
and proceeded to Haiti. Without previous investigation, 
he put Columbus himself in irons and sent him as a common 
prisoner to Spain. The unfortunate explorer was indeed 
released immediately upon his an-i\-al and recei\-ed with all 
honor due to his rank; but he was never again fully reinstated 



314 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

in the court's favor. When he left on his fourth and last 
voyage, his four ships were but poorly equipped and he was 
not even allowed to land at Haiti. In this last attempt to 
find a western route to the east he sailed for a considerable 
distance along the coast of Central America. He returned 
to Spain in 1504 and died there two years later. Like many 
great men he was misunderstood, envied, maligned, and 
dealt with unjustly; but his unflinching determination and 
unselfish labors were rewarded by the discovery of a new 
hemisphere. 

328. John Cabot discovers the North American Continent 
(1497); Magellan undertakes the First Voyage around the 
World (1519-1522). — Columbus' discovery of new western 
lands stimulated the zeal of contemporary navigators. 
Some of these made important discoveries in the vast 
expanse of unexplored regions. One of Columbus' own 
countrymen, John Cabot, subjected the great navigator's 
views and plans to a minute scrutiny and, after receiving a 
commission from the English Crown, sailed westward in 
quest of a new passage to China and India. The course he 
followed lay a considerable distance north of that steered 
by Columbus, and in 1497 he discovered the North American 
continent, landing probably on the coast of Labrador. 

The passage to the east, which haunted the imagination 
of so many navigators, was to be discovered much further 
south by Ferdinand Magellan. A native of Portugal, he 
renounced his nationality and offered his services to Spain. 
Authorized to lead five ships westward to the Moluccas or 
Spice Islands, he left Spain in 1519, reached the Plata River 
in South America the following year and, after spending the 
winter in Patagonia, discovered and passed through the 
strait which bears his name. The calm sea on which he 
sailed on the other side suggested to him the name of Pacific 
Ocean which he applied to it. Although he suffered greatly 
from lack of provisions he continued the voyage in a north- 
westerlv direction and in March, 1521, discovered the islands 




Cathedral and Bell Tower {Giotto) Florence 



INVENTIONS, IHSrOVliRIKS; RliNAISSAN'CI'; i 1 5 

which, in honor of King PhiHp II, were later called the 
Philippines. Here he died fighting the natives. One of his 
officers continued the voyage and successfully brought back- 
to Spain one of the original five ships, thus completing the 
first complete voyage around the world (1522). 

11. The Renaissance in Letters and Art 

329. The Renaissance, Its Meaning, The Country of its 
Origin.— vThe Renaissance or rebirth was a revival of classical 
learning, a return to the study of the literature and art of 
ancient Greece and Rome.y This literary and artistic revival 
was, like most historical movements, connected with the 
past. Latin, as the official language of the Church, had 
always been a means of education and was not unknown to 
medieval students. Italy, the first and principal country 
of the revival, had never, utterly lost all taste for its ancicni 
culture and had never become completely absorbed in the 
Scholastic movement. Strange as it may seem, it is none 
the less true that the ItaHan mind, being less influenced b\- 
Scholasticism, could more easily tiu-n to the ancient classical 
treasures. For the Schoolmen busied themselves with 
metaphysics, with the problems of man's relations to the 
next world, whereas the Humanists, as the students of 
ancient scholarship called themselves, were chiefl}' interested 
in Nature and life, in the beauty, joys, and honors of this 
world. It is important to note these two opposite concep- 
tions of life, as they help to explain the antagonism which 
manifested itself, particularly in Germany, between the 
Scholastics and the Humanists. 

330. Causes and Promoters of the Renaissance.— 
The new movement dates from the bcgi^ming of the four- 
teenth century and lasted well into the sixteenth. Faint 
traces of it are noticeable in Dante (1265-1321). but its 
first standard-bearer was Petrarch, like Dante, an Italian. 
The study of ancient classical models l>ccame a real i.assmn 



316 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

and spread from Italy to other countries. The movement 
assimied a general character affecting every phase of thought 
and life and gained ground among all western nations. It 
was promoted by the founding of numerous universities 
and by the munificent protection extended to it by powerful 
patrons like the Medici at Florence and the Popes at Rome. 
The collecting of ancient manuscripts, which was one of its 
features, was furthered by the founding of libraries like 
that of the Vatican, established by Pope Nicholas V (1447- 
1455). The spread and preservation of classical works 
profited immensely by the invention of the printing press. 
As for the knowledge of ancient letters, it was taught chiefly 
by Italians and Greeks. The former were especially active 
in spreading Latin culture, whereas the latter became in- 
strumental in propagating a taste for Greek letters, par- 
ticularly w^hen the capture of Constantinople by the Turks 
forced many of them to seek a refuge in the West. 

331. Petrarch (1304-1373). — Petrarch, the earliest emi- 
nent Humanist, was born at Arezzo in central Italy and was 
educated in his native land and in France by Italian masters. 
His father destined hini to the profession of law, but the 
youth disliked the dry and lifeless legal formulas and, in 
spite of his father's keen displeasure, devoted himself to 
the study of belles-lettres. He spent several years at the 
papal court at Avignon and entered freely into the gay and 
worldly life of the city. This sojourn was followed by a 
period of wandering which took him through France, Ger- 
many, and especially Italy. He was crowned poet and 
historian at the Capitol in Rome and went from city to city 
in quest of ancient literary remains. In his researches he 
discovered some of Cicero's writings, and, in his admiration 
for classical latinity, he produced works in which he extolled 
the heroes of ancient Rome in Rome's ancient tongue. But 
in spite of the stress which he lays on these productions, his 
lasting fame rests more on his lyric poems written in the 
Italian language. His influence on Himianism, and notably 
on his friend Boccaccio, was of the highest importance. 



INVENTIONS, DISCOVHRIKS; RKNaISSAXcI. ^17 

332. John Boccaccio (\M^ 1375).^J..hn Boccaccio was 
born in Paris of Italian parents an<1 studied in l-lorence. 
An admirer of Dante, he lectured on (lie jUK'try an<l wrote a 
life of the great Florentine. So hi^rh was his appreciation of 
Greek scholarship that he supported at his own house a 
professor who directed his studies in that langua^^e. His 
literary productions were numerous and included a dic- 
tionary of classical mythology w^hich was long referred to as 
authoritative and which stimulated the interest of contem- 
poraries and posterity in ancient learning. 

But the work which has contributed more than anMhing 
else, both by its moral indecency and literary grace, to the 
celebrity which he still enjoys is the famous Decameron or 
"Ten Days." It was written about the middle of the 
fourteenth century when the Black Death was raging in 
Europe and owes its name to the delightful ten days s])ent 
together by ten friends, seven ladies and three young men, 
in a villa near Naples. They went there from Florence to 
escape the thought and danger of the plague and spent the 
time in gay and agreeable fashion. One of the pastimes was 
the telling of a story on each day by each of the friends and 
Boccaccio, in his work, has left us an account of these 
narratives. Whether such a company ever met or not, 
a point which cannot be definitely determined, it is certain 
that the Decameron is remarkable for its fine analysis of 
character, and for the wonderful ^•ariety of the adventures 
related. 

333. The Study of Greek.— Greek was a dead language 
in the fullest sense of the expression during the Middle 
Ages. The western nations neither spoke, nor wTote. nor 
studied Greek. The revival of interest in Latin culture was 
attended by a desire to become acquainted with the treasures 
of ancient Greece. Some of the early Humanists, like 
Boccaccio, acquired at great pains and considerable cxi)cnse 
a knowledge of the Greek authors. Not a few journeyed 
from Italy to Greece to study the language and collect 
literarv remains. 



318 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

The first teacher of Greek in the West was Manuel Chry- 
soloras, who toward the end of the fourteenth century was 
surrounded by eager students in Florence and elsewhere. 
His example was followed by other scholars who devoted 
themselves to the propagation of Hellenistic culture. Their 
number became considerable, particularly when Constan- 
tinople fell into the hands of the Turks, and Greek exiles 
sought refuge in Italy. They formed centres of Hellenistic 
studies in many schools, and their influence was felt far 
beyond Italy. Students from many countries flocked to 
their lectures and carried away to their native land a knowl- 
edge and love of Greek literature. 

334. Popes Nicholas V (1447-1455) and Pius II (1458- 
1464) .^With Pope Nicholas V the Renaissance ascended 
the papal throne. A Humanist, collector of books, and 
lover of art, he designed to make Rome a city of splendid 
monuments and a home of literature and art. A great 
builder, he restored the churches and aqueducts of the city 
and concentrated his attention particularly on the Vatican 
Palace and the basilica of St. Peter's. The Vatican Library, 
founded by him, was a means of preserving many literary 
treasures which would otherwise have become the prey of 
moths or found their way to the furnace. As the Pope 
rescued precious manuscripts from destruction, so also he 
saved poets and scholars from poverty by inviting them 
to his court and conferring on them rewards and favors. 

His rnunificent generosity toward the representatives of the 
New Learning was continued by Pius II, although the latter 
was more of a scholar and less of a patron than Nicholas. 
He had won fame as a poet and orator before he ascended the 
papal throne and during a sojourn, in an official capacity, 
at the emperor's court, had promoted classical studies among 
the Germans. In the empire, the city of Strasburg was the 
earliest centre of Humanism, but in Germany, as well as in 
France and England, the movement gained strength and 
became popular much later than in Italv. 




INVENTIONS, DISCOVKRIHS; RK NAISSANCJ.: 310 

335. The Revival of Art; Giotto (127oi..^O) Fra 
Angelicoj (1387 1455).-ln art as m lucraturc- Uk- revival 
uf antiquity began in Italy. It benefited chiefly archileelure 
sculpture, and painti;ig and drew inspiration from ancient 
monuments and classical remains. The movement assumed 
enormous proportions and produced an almost incredible 
number of works unsurpassed in bold conception and 
finished execution. Its influence on the world's history 
was, however, less notable than that of the revival o'f 
letters. The latter affected directly or indircctl\' all 
classes of society, whereas art appealed only to a 
limited circle of persons. It is a fact worthy of note 
that some artists of the Renaissance excelled not 
only in architecture, or painting, or sculpture, but 
cultivated several arts with distinguished success. Giotto, 
the first renowned representative of the period, was famous 
as an architect and achieved still greater success in painting. 
He was a native of Florence, a town which gave birth to 
more celebrities in this age than probably any other cit\' in 
any equal number of years. As architect he designed the 
bell tower of the cathedral of Florence, and as painter he 
was the author of the frescoes which adorn the Church of St . 
Francis at Assisi. He is rightly considered the founder of 
Italian painting. 

Another illustrious painter of the Florentine school was 
Blessed Fra Angelica (1387-1455), a saintly Dominican 
Friar. His paintings may be seen in several Italian cities 
in which he successively resided. Particularly noteworthy 
are the decorations in the Dominican convent of San Marco 
in Florence. They belong to the most exquisite productions 
of Christian art and inspire the loftiest sentiments of piety 
and devotion in the beholder. In the pictures i^ainted b\- 
the Friar artist the characters appear as if transfigured b\- a 
mysterious heavenly influence. 

336. The Three Master Minds of the Renaissance: 
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519); Raphael (1483 1520) and 



320 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Michelangelo (1475-1564). — The three greatest mmrls of 
the Renaissance were Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and 
Michelangelo. The first-named was an almost universal 
genius. He excelled not only in sculpture, painting, and 
architecture, but was likewise an engineer and scientist of 
the first rank. His mind grappled with the problems of 
aviation and submarine navigation which have been solved 
only in our own day. Raphael was less universal, but is 
recognized as the greatest painter of all time. His madonnas 
have been universally admired ever since they were pro- 
duced. His talent not only charmed an appreciative world 
by its wonderful creations, but also advanced the progress of 
painting by the lessons it imparted to* numerous disciples. 
Michelangelo belonged less to the fifteenth than to the 
sixteenth century, but, as an artist, he is too typical of the 
Renaissance not to be mentioned here. Inferior as a scientist 
to Leonardo da Vinci, he surpassed him as a poet and was a 
genius at once in architecture, sculpture, and painting. 
His works in any one of these three arts would suffice to 
render his name forever memorable. He is generally ac- 
knowledged as one of the greatest artists not only of the 
Renaissance, but of all ages. 

337. Results of the Renaissance. — The Renaissance 
affected not only the age in which it occurred, but all sub- 
sequent centuries. It was, in fact, a rebirth of the intel- 
lectual life of mankind. The admiration and love for 
antiquity, which characterized it, saved to the world many 
priceless literary and artistic remains of the flourishing days 
of Greece and Rome. The legion of talented men who 
illustrated it produced numerous masterpieces in literature 
and art. But not content with enthusiasm for the dead 
past, the Renaissance also cultivated and put in honor 
an appreciation for the living present, for the beauties of 
nature. It was impressed by imposing scenery and pic- 
turesque landscapes and did not think it amiss to devote its 
talent to the description of natural phenomena. This 




Raphael [by himself) 



L 



INVENTIONS, discoveries; RENAISSANTE .U\ 

sentiment for the true and real also manifested itself in tlie 
attitude of scholars toward literary remains. Thev at- 
tempted to sift the authentic and genuine from the un- 
authentic and spurious. The science of historical criticism 
was thus introduced and led to the rejection of fabulous 
narratives or fictitious documents foisted on an cxcessix-ely 
credulous medieval public. 

■ But the Renaissance also had its dark side. The admira- 
tion of some of its scholars extended unfortunately to every- 
thing pagan, to pagan religion and pagan corruption as 
well as to pagan scholarship. Many Humanists threw to 
the winds the Christian principles and practises in which 
they had been brought up and lived frivolous and immoral 
lives. The passion for antiquity intoxicated them; beauty 
instead of duty became for them the standard and law of 
life. In their eyes man seemed to have been created ex- 
clusively for pleasure and enjoyment. Amusement, renown, 
literary fame were the ideals which they pursued to the 
exclusion of all other aim. Even the papacy and the Roman 
ecclesiastical world did not remain immune from this false 
estimate of human values. Popes and ecclesiastics paid 
their tribute to worldliness and corruption. If the suc- 
ceeding age was one of disaffection and rejection of papal 
authority, the evils attendant upon the Renaissance were 
partly responsible for the breaking up of Catholic unity. 

Bibliography 

I. Alexander, P. J., The Earliest Voyages Round the World (1519- 
1617). (University Press, Cambridge, 1916.) 

Beazley, C. R., Prince Henry the Navigator. (Putnam, Xcw York, 
1914.) 

Cheyney, E. P., European Background of American History. (Har- 
pers' New York, 1904.) 

Irving, W., Life and Voyages of Columbus. 3 vols. (Putnam, New 
York, 1902.) 

McCarthy, C. H., Columbus and His Predecessors. (Mc\'cy, Phila- 
delphia, 1912.) 

Spears, J. R., Master Mariners. (Holt, New York, 1912.) 



322 THE CHRISTIAN ERA 

Thacher, J. B., Christopher Columbus. 3 vols. (Putnam, New- 
York, 1904.) 
II. Baudrillart-Gibbs, The Catholic Church, the Renaissance and Protes- 
tantism. (Benziger, New York, 1908.) 

Burckhardt-Middlemore, The Civilisation sj the Renaissance in 
Italy. (Macmillan, New York, 1890.) 

Stone, Miss J. M., Reformation and Renaissance. (Button, New- 
York, 1904.) 

Symonds-Pearson, A Short History of the Renaissance in Italy. 
(Holt, New York, 1893.) 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 







I. THE POPES 


1 


. St 


. Peter, 67 


2, 


. wSt 


. Linus, 67-79 


3, 


. St 


. Anacletus, 79-90 


4 


. St 


. Clement I, 90-99 


5. 


, St 


. Evaristus, 99-107 


6. 


, St 


. Alexander, 107-116 


7. 


St, 


. Xystus (SixtusI), 116-25 


8. 


St, 


. Telesphorus, 125-36 


9. 


St, 


. Hyginus, 136-40 


10. 


St, 


, Pius I, 140-54 


11. 


St. 


Anicetus, 154-66 


12. 


St. 


Soter, 166-174 


13. 


St. 


Eleutherus, 174-89 


14. 


St. 


Victor, 189-98 


15. 


St. 


Zephyrinus, 198-217 


16. 


St. 


Callixtus, 217-22 




Hippolytus, 217-35 


17. 


St. 


Urban I, 222-30 


18. 


St. 


Pontian, 230-35 


19. 


St. 


Anterus, 235-36 


20. 


St. 


Fabian, 236-50 


21. 


St. 


Cornelius, 251-53 




Novatian, 251-58 


22. 


St. 


Lucius I, 253-54 


23. 


St. 


Stephen I, 254-57 


24. 


St. 


Xystus (Sixtus) II, 257-58 


25. 


St. 


Dionysius, 259-68 


26. 


St. 


Felix I, 269-74 


27. 


St. 


Eutychian, 275-83 


28. 


St. 


Caius, 283-96 


29. 


St. 


Marcellin, 296-304 


30. 


St. 


Marcellus I, 308-9 


31. 


St. 


Eusebius, 309 or 310 


32. 


St. 


Miltiades (Melchiadcs) 
311-14 


33. 


St. 


Silvester I, 314-35 


34. 


St. 


Mark, 336 


35. 


St. 


Julius I, 337-52 



36. Liberius, 352-66 
Felix II, 355-65 

37. St. Damasus I, 366-84 
Ursinus, 366-67 

38. St. Siricius, 384-99 

39. St. Anastasius I, 399-401 

40. St. Innocent I, 401-417 

41. vSt. Zosimus, 417-18 

42. St. Boniface I, 418-22 
Eulalius, 418-19 

43. St. Celestine I, 422-32 

44. St. Sixtus, III, 432-40 

45. St. Leo I, 440-61 

46. St. Hilary, 461-68 

47. St. Simplicius, 468-83 

48. St. Felix II (III), 483-92 

49. St. Gelasius, I, 492-96 

50. St. Anastasius II, 496-98 

51. St. Symmachus, 498-514 
Lawrence, 498-505 

52. St. Hormisdas, 514-23 

53. St. John I, 523-26 

54. St. Felix III (IVj. 526-30 

55. St. Boniface II, 530-32 
Dioscorus, 530 

56. John II (Mercurius), 533-35 

57. St. Agapetus, I, 535-36 

58. St. Silverius, 536-37 

59. Vigilius, 537-55 

60. Pelagius I, 556-61 

61. John III, 561-74 

62. Benedict I, 575-79 

63. Pelagius II, 579-90 

64. St. Gregory I, 590-604 

65. Sabinian, 604-6 

66. Boniface III, 607 

67. St. Boniface IV, 608-15 

68. St. Deusdcdit, 615-18 

69. Boniface V, 619-25 

323 



324 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



Honorius I, 625-38 
Severinus, 640 
John IV. 640-42 
Theodore I, 642-49 
St. Martin I, 649-53 
St. Eugene I, 654-57 
St. Vitalian, 657-72 
Adeodatus, 672-76 
Bonus, 676-78 
St. Agatho, 678-81 
St. Leo II, 682-83 
St. Benedict II, 684-85 
John V, 685-86 
Conon, 686-87 
Theodore, 687 
Paschal, 687-92 
St. Sergius, 687-701 
John VI, 701-5 
John VII, 705-7 
Sisinnius, 708 
Constantine I, 708-15 
St. Gregory II, 715-31 
St. Gregory III, 731-41 
St. Zacharias, 741-52 
Stephen, 752 
Stephen II, 752-57 
, St. Paul I, 757-67 
Constantine II, 767-68 
Philip, 768 
. Stephen III, 768-72 
. Adrian I, 772-95 
. St. Leo III, 795-816 
Stephen IV, 816-17 
St. Paschal I, 817-24 
Eugene II, 824-27 
Valentine, 827 
Gregory IV, 827-44 
John, 844 
Sergius II, 844^7 
St. Leo IV, 847-55 
Benedict III, 855-58 
Anastasius, 855 
105. St. Nicholas I, 858-67 



70. 
71. 
72. 
73. 
74. 
75. 
76. 
77. 
78. 
79. 
80. 
81. 
82. 
83. 



84. 
85. 
86. 
87. 
88, 
89. 
90. 
91, 

92 
93 



94. 
95. 
96. 
97. 
98. 
99. 
100. 
101. 

102 
103 
104 



106. 
107. 
108. 
109. 
110. 
111. 
112. 
113. 
114. 
115. 
116. 
117. 
118. 
119. 

120. 

121. 

122. 

123. 

124. 

125. 

126. 

127. 

128. 

129. 

130. 

131. 

132. 

133. 

134. 

135. 

136. 
137. 
138. 
139. 
140. 

141, 
142 
143 
144 
145 



Adrian II, 867-72 
John VIII, 872-82 
Marinus I, 882-84 
Adrian III, 884-85 
Stephen V, 885-91 
Formosus, 891-96 
Boniface VI, 896 
Stephen VI, 896-97 
Romanus, 897 
Theodore II, 897 
John IX, 898-900 
Benedict IV, 900-903 
Leo V, 903 
Christopher, 903-4 
Sergius III, 904-1 1 
Anastasius III, 911-13 

Lando, 913-14 

John X, 914-28 

Leo VI, 928 

Stephen VII, 929-31 

John XI, 931-35 . 

Leo VII, 936-39 

Stephen VIII, 939-42 

Marinus II, 942-46 

Agapetus II, 946-55 

John XII, 955-64 

Leo VIII, 963-65 

Benedict V, 964 

John XIII, 965-72 

Benedict VI, 973-74 

Boniface VII (Franco), 974 

Benedict VII, 974-83 

John XIV, 983-84 

Boniface VII, 984-85 

John XV, 985-96 
, Gregory V, 996-99 

John XVI, 997-98 
. Silvester II, 999-1003 
. John XVII, 1003 
. John XVIII, 1003-9 
. Sergius IV, 1009-12 
. Benedict VIII, 1012-24 

Gregory, 1012 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLK 



325 



146. 
147. 
148. 
149. 
150. 
151. 
152. 
153. 
154. 
155. 
156. 
157. 

158. 

159. 
160. 
161. 



162. 

163. 
164. 

165. 



166. 
167. 
168. 
169. 
170. 
171. 



.172, 
173. 
174. 
175. 



John XIX, 1024-32 
Benedict IX, 1032-44 
Silvester III, 1045 
Gregory VI, 1045-46 
Clement II, 1046-47 
Damasus II, 1048 
St. Leo IX, 1049-54 
Victor II, 1055-57 
Stephen IX, 1057-58 
Benedict X, 1058-59 
Nicholas II, 1058-61 
Alexander II, 1061-73 
Honorius II, 1061-69 
St. Gregory VII, 1073-85 
Clement III, 1084-1100 
Victor III, 1087 
Urban II, 1088-99 
Paschal II, 1099-1118 
Theodoric, 1100-2 
Albert 1102 
Silvester IV, 1105-11 
Gelasius II, 1118-19 
Gregory VIII, 1118-21 
CalixtusII, 1119-24 
Honorius II, 1124-30 
Celestine II, 1124 
Innocent II, 1130-43 
Anacletus II, 1130-38 
Victor IV, 1138 
Celestine II, 1143-44 
Lucius II, 1144-45 
Eugene III, 1145-53 
Anastasius IV, 1153-54 
Adrian IV, 1154-59 
Alexander III, 1159-81 
Victor IV, 1159-64 
Paschal III, 1164-68 
CalixtusIII, 1168-79 
Innocent III, 1179-80 
Lucius III, 1181-85 
Urban III, 1185-87 
Gregory VIII, 1187 
Clement III, 1187-91 



176. 
177. 
178. 
179. 
180. 
181. 
182. 
183. 
184. 
185. 
186. 
187. 
188. 
189. 
190. 
191. 
192. 
193. 
194. 
195. 
196. 
197. 

198. 
199. 
200. 
201. 
202. 
203. 

204. 

205. 
206. 
207. 
208. 
209. 



210. 

211. 
212. 



Celestine III, 1191 -'>S 
Innocent III, 1198-12U) 
Honorius III, 1216-27 
Gregory IX, 1227-41 
Celestine IV, 1241 
Innocent IV, 1243-54 
Alexander IV, 1254-61 
Urban IV, 1261-64 
Clement IV, 1265-68 
St. Gregory X, 1271 7o 
Innocent V, 1276 
Adrian V, 1276 
John XXI, 1276-77 
Nicholas HI, 1277-80 
Martin IV, 1281-85 
Honorius IV, 1285-87 
Nicholas IV, 1288-92 
St. Celestine V, 1294 
Boniface VIII, 1294-1.^03 
Benedict XI, 1303-4 
Clement V, 1305-14 
John XXII, 1316-34 
Nicholas V, 1328-30 
Benedict XII, 1334-42 
Clement VI, 1342-52 
Innocent VI, 1352-62 
Urban V, 1362-70 
Gregory XI, 1370-78 
Urban VI, 1378-89 
Clement VII, 1378-94 
Boniface IX, 1389-1404 
Benedict XIII. 1394-1424 
Innocent VII, 1404-6 
Gregory XII, 1406-15 
Alexander V, 1409-10 
John XXIII. 1410-15 
Martin V, 1417-31 
Clement VIII, 1424-20 
Benedict XIV. 1424- 
Eugenc IV, 1431-47 
Felix V, 1439-49 
Nicholas V, 1447-55 
Calixtus III, 1455-58 



326 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



213. Pius II, 1458-64 

214. PaulII, 1464-71 

215. Sixtus IV, 1471-84 

216. Innocent VIII, 1484-92 

217. Alexander VI, 1492-1503 - 

218. Pius III, 1503 • 

219. Julius II, 1503-1513 

220. Leo X, 1513-21 

II. ROMAN AND BYZANTINE 
EMPERORS 

Augustus, 30 B.C.-A.D. 14 

Tiberius, 14-37 

Caius Caligula, 37-41 

Claudius I, 41-54 

Nero, 54-68 

Galba, Otho, Vitellius, 68-69 

Vespasian, 69-79 

Titus, 79-81 

Domitian, 81-96 

Nerva, 96-98 

Trajan, 98-117 

Adrian, 117-38 

Antoninus Pius, 138-61 

Marcus Aurelius, 161-80 

Commodus, 180-92 

Pertinax, 193 

Septimius Severus, 193-211 

Caracalla, 211-17 

Macrinus, 217-18 

Elagabalus (Heliogabalus), 218-22 

Alexander Severus, 222-35 

Maximinus the Thracian, 235-38 

Pupienus and Gordianus, 238 

Gordianus the Younger, 238-44 

Philippus Arabs, 244^9 

Decius, 249-51 

Gallus and Volusian, 251-53 

Valerian, 253-60 

Gallienus, 260-68 

Claudius II, 268-70. 

Aurelian, 270-75 

Tacitus, 275-76 



Probus, 276-82 

Carus, 282-84 

Diocletian, 284-305 

Maximian, 286-305 

Constantius Chlorus, 305-306 

Galerius, 305-11 

Constantine I the Great, 306-37 

Maximin, 308-13 

Licinius, 308-23 

Constantius, 337-61 

Constantine II, 337-40 

Constans I, 337-50 

Julian the Apostate, 361-63 

Jovian, 363-64 

Valentinian I, 364-75 

Valens, 364-78 

Gratian, 375-83 

Valentinian II, 375-92 

Theodosius I, 379-95 

Honorius, 395-423 

John the Tyrant, 423-25 

Valentinian III, 425-55 

Avitus, 455-56 

Majorian, 457-61 

Severus, 461-65 

Ricimer, 465-67 

Anthemius, 467-72 

Olybrius, 472 

Glycerius, 473 

Julius Nepos, 474 

Romulus Augustulus, 475 

Arcadius, 395-408 

Theodosius II, 408-50 

Marcian, 450-57 

Leo I, 457-74 

Leo II & Zeno, 474-91 

Basiliscus, 476-77 

Anastasius I, 491-518 

Justin I, 518-27 

Justinian I, 527-65 

Justin II, 565-78 

Tiberius II, 578-82 

Mauritius. 582-602 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 



327 



Phocas, 602-10 

Heraclius, 610-41 

Constantine III and Heracleonas, 

641 
Constans II, 641-68 
Constantixie IV (Pogonatus), 668- 

85 
Justinian II, 685-95 
Leontius, 695-98 
Tiberius III, 698-705 
Justinian II bis, 705-11 
Philippicus Bardanes, 711-13 
Anastasius II, 713-16 
Theodosius III, 716-17 
Leo III the Isaurian, 717-41 
Constantine V (Copronymus), 741- 

75 
Leo IV, 775-80 
Constantine VI, 780-97 
Irene, 797-802 
NicephorusI, 802-11 
Michaell, 811-13 
Leo V the Armenian, 813-20 
Michael II the Stammerer, 820-29 
Theophilus, 829-42 
Theodora, 842-56 
Michael III the Drunkard, 842-67 
Basil I the IVIacedonian, 867-86 
Leo VI the Wise, 886-912 
Constantine VII, 912-59 

Alexander, 912-13 

Romanus I, 919-44 
Romanus II, 959-63 
Nicephorus II (Phocas), 963-69 
John Zimisces, 969-76 
Basil II, 976-1025 
Constantine VIII, 976-1028 
Zoe, 1028-50 

Romanus III, 1028-34 

Michael IV, 1034-41 

Michael V, 1041-42 

Constantine IX (Monom- 

achus), 1042-54 



Theodora, 1054-56 
Michael VI, 1056-57 
Isaac Comnenus, 1057-59 
Constantine X (Dukas), 1059-67 
Romanus IV (Diogenes), 1067-71 
Michael VII (Parapinakes), 1071- 

78 
Nicephorus III (Botaniates),1078- 

81 
Alexis I (Comnenus), 1081-1118 
John II (Com.), 1118-43 
Manuel I (Com.), 1143-80 
Alexis II (Com.), 1180-83 
Andronicus I (Com.), 1183-85 
Isaac Angelus, 1185-95 
Alexis III, 1195-1203 
Alexis IV, 1203-4 
Alexis V (Murzuflus), 1204. 

Latin Dynasty 

Baldwin I, 1204-6 

Henry, 1206-16 

Pierre de Court enay, 1216-17 

Jolante, 1217-19 

Robert de Courtenay, 1219-28 

Baldwin II, 1228-61 

John of Brienne, 1230-37 

Trebizond and Nicene Empires. 

Theodore I (Lascaris),. 1204-22 
John III (Vatatzes), 1222-54 
Theodore II (Lasc), 1254-58 
John IV (Lasc), 1258-61 

Constantinople 

Michael VllI (Palaeologus), 1259- 

82 
Andronicus II, 1282-1328 
Andronicus III, 1328-41 
John V (Pal.), 1341-91 

John VI (Cantac), 1341-55 

Matthias, 1354-56 
Manuel II (Pal.\ L^Ol-1425 



328 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



John VII (Pal.), 1425-48 
Constantine XII, 1448-53 
III. WESTERN EMPERORS 
AND KINGS^ 

Charles I the Great (Charle- 
magne), 800-14 
Louis the Pious, 814-40 
Lothair I, 840-55 
Louis II, 850-75 
Charles II the Bald, 875-77 
Charles III, 881-87 
Guido of Spoleto, 891-93 
Lambert of Sp., 892-98 
Arnulfus, 896-99 
♦Louis III the Child, 900-11 
Louis III of Provence, 901-2 
♦Conrad I. 911-18 
Berengarius of Friuli, 915-24 
♦Henry I, 919-36 
Otto I the Great, 936-73 
Otto II, 973-83 
Otto III, 983-1002 
Henry II, 1002-24 
Conrad II, 1024-39 
Henry III, 1039-56 
♦Henry IV, 1056-1106 
Henry V, 1106-25 
Lothair II the Saxon, 1125-37 
♦Conrad III, 1138-52 
FredericI, 1152-90 
Henry VI, 1190-97 
♦Philip of Suabia, 1198-1208 
Otto IV of Brunswick, 1198-1215 
Frederic II, 1215-50 
♦Henry Raspe, 1246-47 
♦William of Holland, 1247-56 
♦Conrad IV, 1250-54 
Interregnum (Richard of Corn- 
wall and Alfonso of Castile), 
1256-73 
♦Rudolf of Hapsburg, 1273-91 



iThe asterisk before a name indicates 
that the king was never crowned emperor. 



♦Adolfus of Nassau, 1292-98 
♦Albert I of Austria, 1298-1308 
Henry VII of Luxemburg, 1308-13 
♦Lewis of Bavaria, 1314^7 
♦Frederic of Austria, 1314-30 
Charles IV of Bohemia, 1346-78 
♦Wenceslaus of Bohemia, 1378- 

1400 
♦Rupert of the Palatinate, 1400- 

10 
Sigismund of Hungary, 1410-37 
♦Albert II, 1438-39 
Frederic III, 1440-93 
Maximilian I, 1493-1519 
Charles V, 1519-56 

IV. FRENCH KINGS 
Carolingians 
Charles II the Bald, 840-77 
Louis II the Stammerer, 877-79 
Louis III, 879-82 

Carloman, 879-84 

Charles III (Emperor), 885-87 

Eudes, 887-98 

Charles III the Simple, 898-923 

Robert I, 922-23 

Rudolf, 923-36 

Louis IV (Overseas), 936-54 

Lothair, 954-86 

Louis V 986-87 

Capetians 

Hugh Capet, 987-96 

Robert, 996-1031 

Henry I, 1031-60 

Philip I, 1060-1108 

Louis VI the Fat, 1108-37 

Louis VII the Young, 1137-80 

Philip II (Augustus), 1180-1223 

Louis VIII the Lion, 1223-26 

Louis IX the Saint, 1226-70 

Philip III, 1270-1285 

Philip IV the Fair, 1285-1314 

Louis X the Quarreller, 1314-16 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 



i2') 



John I, 1316 

Philip V the Tall, 1316-22 
Charles IV the Fair, 1323-28 
Louis V, 986-87 

House of Valois 
Philip VI, 1328-50 
John II the Good, 1350-64 
Charles V the Wise, 1364-80 
Charles VI, 1380-1422 
Charles VII, 1422-61 
Louis XI, 1461-83 
Charles VIII, 1483-98 
Louis XII, 1498-1515 
Francis I, 1515-47 
Henry II, 1547-59 
Francis II, 1559-60 
Charles IX, 1560-74 
Henry III, 1574-89 

House of Bourbon 

V. KINGS OF ENGLAND 
Anglo-Saxons 

Egbert, 800-837 
Ethelwolf, 837-56 
Ethelbald, 856-60 
Ethelbert, 858-66 
Ethelred I, 866-71 
Alfred the Great, 871-900 
Edward I, 900-24 
Athelstan, 924-40 
Edmund I, 940-46 
Edred, 946-55 
Edwy, 955-59 
Edgar, 959-75 

Danes and Anglo-Saxons 

Edward II the Martyr, 975-78 
Ethelred II the Unready, 978-1016 
Sweyn (Suanon), 1014-15 
Canute the Great, 1015-36 
Edmund II Ironside, 1016-17 
Harold I, 1036-40 



Canute H, 1040-42 

Edward III the Confessrr, 1042-66 

Harold II, 1066 

Normans 

William I the Conqueror, 1066-87 
William II (Rufus), 1087-11(K» 
Henry I Bcauclerk, 1100-35 
vStephen of Blois, 1135-54 

Plantagenets 
Henry II, 1154-89 
Richard I Lionheart, 1189-99 
John Lackland, 1199-1216 
Henry III, 1216-72 
Edward I, 1272-1307 
Edward II, 1307-27 
Edward HI, 1327-77 
Richard II, 1377-99 

House of Lancaster 
Henry IV, 1399-1413 
Henry V, 1413-22 
Henry VI, 1422-61 

House of York 

Edward IV, 1461-83 
Edward V, 1483 
Richard III, 1483-85 

House of Tudor 
Henry VII, 1485-1 50<> 
Henry VIII, 1509-1547 
Edward VI, 1547-53 
Mary I, 1553-58. 
Ehzabeth, 1558-1603. 

VI. KINGS OF SPAIN. 

Ferdinand the Catliolic (<-'t Ara- 

gon), 1479-1516 
Isabella the Catholic (of Castile), 

1474-1504 
Joanna and Philip I (<->f Ca<tile), 

1504-7 
Charles I, 1516-56 



INDEX 

The References are to Sections, not to pages 



Abelard, 225 

Administration, uniformity and 

efficiency of Roman, 76 
Adoption of successors, 34 
Adrianople, battle of, 323, 20, 45 
Adrianople, battle of (378), 60 
Aetius, 63 

Africa, persecution in, 15 
Agincourt, battle of, 256 
Agnadello, battle of, 269 
Agnes of Poitou, 151 
Agricola, Julius, Zd>, 56 
Agrippa, iO 
Agrippina, 29 
Aistulf, King, 98 
Aix-la-Chapelle, 116, 143 
Alani, 61 
Alaric, 60 

Albert the Bear, 161 
Albertus Magnus, 225 
Albigenses, 169, 235 
Alboin, 84 

Albornoz, Cardinal, 312 
Albuquerque, Afonso, 323 
Alemanni, 61; conquered, 95; con- 
version of, 133; defeated, 92; 

invade Switzerland, 50 
Alexander III of Scotland, 273 
Alexandria in Egypt, 24, 26, 69; 

in Italy, 160 
Alfonso V of Aragon, 311 
Alfred the Great, 174, 175 
Alhambra, 126 
Alliance between French and 

Scots, 274 
Almanzor, 294 
Alnwick, battle of, 184 
Alsace and Rudolf of Hapsburg, 

300 
America, discovery of, 326 
Amiens, Cathedral, 228 
Amphitheatre, combats in, 72 
Anagni, Arrest of Boniface VIII 

at, 239 
Anchorites, 131 

Andrew II, king of Hungary, 211 
Angevin dvnasty, family discord 

in, 187 



Angles, 85 

Anglo-Saxons, missicms to, 130 

Angora, battle of, 317 

Anjou, House of, in vSicily, 311 

Antioch, patriarch appointed at, 
26; siege of, 206 

Antonincs, The, 27, 34 

Antoninus Pius, 37, 56 

Antonv defeats Parthians, 53 

Antrim, 89 

Apostates, number of, 15 

Apostles, preaching of, 7 ; trans- 
formation of, 7 

Appian Way, 68 

Aquitaine, 122; delivered by the 
French, 254; duchy of, 180 

Arab civilization, 125; empire, 127 

Arabesques, 126 

Arabia, religion of, 117; subju- 
gated by Alohammed, 118 

Arabic figures, 125 

Arabic, language of X. Africa, 121 

Arabs attack the Visigoths, 93 

Aragon, 101; House of, in Sicily, 
311; kingdom of, 295, 296. 

Arcadius, 48, 60 

Architecture, Gothic, 226-228; 
in Rome, 76, 77 

Ardri, or high king, 89 

Argyle, 89 

Arianism, 21 

Aristotle, 125 _ 

Armagnacs, 255, 256 

Arminius or Hermann, 50 

Army, Roman, 47 

Art, Roman, 77 

Ascetics, 131 

Asia Minor, St. Paul in, 8 

Asia, mother of religions, 117 

Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Ar- 
menia, 36, 53 

Asturia, kingdom of, 29^, 296 

Athens, 8. 22, 69 

Attila, 62 

Augustine, 87 , . i 

Augustus, 5; provinces under, li; 
prudence of, 28; Rome undtT, 
10: successor of, 27; titles of. 9; 
331 



332 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



Aurelian, 13, 42 

Austrasia, 95 

Austria, 103, 299 

Autharis, 84 

Autocracy of Constantino, 47 

Authority, among Christians, 105; 

weakness of royal, 139 
Avars, 99, 103 
Avicenna, 125 
Avignon, residence of the Popes, 

240 
Azores, discovery of, 322 

Babylonian captivity, 241 . 

Baccalaureate, 223 

Bacon, Roger, 319 

Bagdad, 124 

Balkan peninsula, 52, 60 

Balliol, John, 273, 274 

Bannockburn, battle of, 277 

Barbarian soldiers rise to high 
positions, 57 

Barbarians cross the frontier, 58 

Barbarossa, see Frederic I, 158 

Barons' War, 197 

Barrack Emperors, 40 

Basilicas, 26 

Baths, of Caracalla, 41; Diocle- 
tian, 45 

Battle of Adrianople in 323, 20; 
Adrianople in 378, 60; Agin- 
court, 256; Agnadello, 269; 
Alnwick, 184; Angora, 317; 
Bannockburn, 277; Bos worth 
Field, 289; Chioggia, 309; Clon- 
tarf, 185; Crecy, 250, 252 
Dunbar, 274; Evesham, 197 
Falkirk, 275; Hastings, 177 
Hattin, 209; Las Navas de To- 
losa, 295; Lewes, 197; Marig- 
nano, 269; Milvian Bridge, 17; 
Morgarten, 305 ; Neville's Cross, 
251, 280; Nicopolis, 316; No- 
vara, 269; Poitiers, 252; Ra- 
venna, 269; Sempach, 305; 
Sluys, 250; Towton, 289 

Baudricourt, Robert, 258 

Bavaria, 84; family of, 301 

Bavarians reduced to subjection, 
95 

Belisarius, 81 

Benedictines, 132 

Berengarius, 144 

Berkelv Castle, 278 



Bertha, Queen, 87 

Bertrand du Guesclin, 254 

Bestiarii, 73 

Bethlehem, 5 

Bishop of Rome appealed to, 128 

Bishops, domains of, 148; elec- 
tion of, 26; put to death under 
Decius, 15 

Black Death, 281 

Black Prince, 252, 282 

Black Sea, 59 

Blanche of Castile, 170, 213 

Bobbio, 133 

Boccaccio, John, 331, 332 

Boethius, 81 

Bohemia and Austria, 299 

Bologna, University of, 221 

Bonaparte, 309 

Boniface, Apostle of Germany, 
133, 134 

Boniface, Roman General, 61 

Boniface VIII, 238, 239 

Bosworth Field, battle of, 289 

Boundary of Roman Empire, 1 1 

Bouvines, battle of, 168 

Brehons, 90 

Bretigny, Treaty of, 253 

Bretwalda, 173 

Brian Boru, 185 

Britain, 33, 55, 61, 85 

Britannicus, 30 

Brittany, 86 

Brotherhood, doctrine of Christ, 6 

Bruce, Robert, 273, 275 

Bulgarians, 314 

Burgundians, 95, 255, 256, 264 

Burgundy, 95, 147 

Burrus, 30 

Byzantine Empire, 313 

Byzantium 46 

Cabot, John, 328 

Cairo, 124 

Caius Caesar (Caligula), 29 

Calais, 250, 251 

Caledonians, 56 

Califs, 121 

Caligula, 29 

Calvary, 5 

Cambrai, League of, 269 

Canossa, 153 

Canterbury, 87, 183 

Canute the Great, 175, 176 

Capetian dynasty, 141, 165, 247 



References are to sections 



INDEX 



.U.^ 



Capital punishment, 112 

Capitularies, 107 

Caprea (Capri), 28 

Caracalla, 41 

Carloman, 99 

Carnarvon Castle, 271 

Carolingians, end of, 141 

Carpathians, 60 

Carthage, 61 

Caspian Sea, 59 

Castile and Aragon, union of, 

296 
Catalonia, kingdom of, 296 
Cathedrals, Gothic, 226, 228 
Catherine of Aragon, 290 
Catherine of Siena, Saint, 243 
Cauchon, Peter, 262 
Caxton, Wilham, 320 
Celtic tongue, 85 
Cenobitic life, 131 
Central government of Franks, 

108 
Chancellor of a University, 223 
Charity among pagans, 22 
Charlemagne, 98, 100, 104, 129, 

136, 137 
Charles Martel, 96, 122, 134 
Charles of Anjou, 164, 214 
Charles the Bald, 137 
Charles the Bold, 266, 267 
Charles the Simple, 140 
Charles V of France, 254; VI, 255; 

VII, 257; and Joan of Arc, 258, 
263; crowned at Rheims, 260; 

VIII, 268 

Charles IV, of Germany, 302 

Chartres Cathedral, 228 

Childebert, 95 

Childeric III, 97 

China, 127 

Chinon, 258 

Chioggia, battle of, 309 

Chivalry, effects of, 199 

Christ, doctrine of, 6; resurrec- 
tion of, 6 

Christendom, 216, 244 

Christian, churches, 16, 26; ele- 
ment in empire of Charle- 
magne, 136; era, begmnmg of, 
5; officers, 16; religion recog- 
nized, 19; spirit, 135; world, 
division of, 244 

Christianity, exclusive 1/: ^^i- 
fiuence of, 78; triumph of, 20 



Christians, accused, 14, 16; ap- 
pointed to high offices, 16; for- 
bidden to teach the classics, 23 ; 
loss of early fervor among, 15; 
persecution of, 13 

Chrysoloras, Manuel, 3?>3 

Church, jurisdiction of, 235 

Church, Otto relies on support of, 
143 

Cid Campeador, 295 

Cities, growth of, 303 

Citizenship, extension of Roman, 
29,41 

City-State of Florence, 307 

Civil administration under Dio- 
cletian, 44 

Civilization, character of , 1 ; Greco- 
Roman, 78 

Civilized people, characteristics 
of, 1 

Clarendon, Constitutions of, 182 

Claudius, 29, 55 

Clement III, Antipope, 154 

Clergy and convocations, 272; 
clergy, power of, 25 

Clericis laicos, 237 

Clermont, council of, 202 

Clodomir, 95 

Clontarf, battle of, 185 

Clotaire, 95 

Clotilde, 92 

Clovis, conversion of, 92; named 
Patrician, 94 

Cluniac reform, 150^ 

Cluny, monks of, 150 

Coalition against Philip Augustus. 
168 

Codeof Justinian, 82 

Coliseum, 31 
Collegia or unions, 66 
Cologne Cathedral, 228 
Cologne, home of Franks, 91 
Colonna, Sciarra, 239 
Colons, serfs or slaves, 1 14 
Columbus, Christopher, 324 _ 
Combats, of the amphitheatre, / 1 ; 

of wild beasts, 73 
Commandments of Islam, l-'U 
Commodus, 39, 40 
Commons, House of, 272, ZbZ 
Communes, Italian, 15/ 
Community life. 131 
Compicgne, 261 
Conrad, son of Henry I\ . 153 



References aie to sectious 



334 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



Conrad II, 147 
Conrad III, 157 

Conrad IV, 164 

Conradin, 164 

Constance, council of, 246; Peace 
of, 160 

Constance, wife of Henry VI, 162 

Constans, 21 

Constantine, the Great, 16, abso- 
lute ruler, 19; and Licinius, 20; 
creates fleet, 46; death of, 21; 
religious poHcy of, 19; sole 
ruler, 20; Supreme Pontiff, 19 

Constantine II, 21 

Constantinople, Fall of, 317; 
Latin empire of, 210; bounding 
of, 46 

Constantius, 21 

Constantius Chlorus, 16, 43 

Constitutions of Clarendon, 182 

Convocations and the Clergy, 272 

Cordova, 124, 126 

Corinth, St. Paul at, 8 

Coronation, meaning of (Charle- 
magne's), 105 

Council in France, Royal, 172 

Council of, Clermont, 202; Con- 
stance, 246 ; Ferrara-Florence 
317; Lyons, First, 164; Nice, 21 
Pisa, 245; the Lateran, 156 
Verona, 229 

Counties, 108 

Counts of Flanders, 247 

Cr6cy, battle of, 250 

Credition, 134 

Croatians, 314 

Crown domains of the Franks, 
109 

Crowns of German kings, 144 

Crusaders, Character and nation- 
ality of, 203 

Crusades, 201, 135; general re- 
sults of, 215, 216; leaders of, 204 

Cuba, 326 

Curia Regis, 179 

Customs duties, 109 

Dacia, 42 
Dacians, 52 
Dagobert, 95 
Dalmatia, 80, 81 
Damascus, 124 
Damietta, 211, 213 
Dandolo, Doge, 210 



Danegeld, 181 

Danes, in Ireland, 185; invasions 

of, 173 
Dante, 330 
Danube, 60 
Dauphine, acquisition of, by 

France, 252 
Decius, 13, 52 
Decurions, 44 
Degrees, University, 223 
Deities, enormous number of, 12; 

provincial, in Rome, 12 
Democracy, 26, 217 
Denis the Little, 5 
Desiderius, 100 
Despensers, 278 
Diaz, Bartholomew, 323 
Dioceses and provinces under 

Diocletian, 44 
Diocletian, abdication of, 45; 

divides the empire, 43; heavy 

taxation under, 44; introduces 

oriental forms, 43; persecution 

under, 16 
Diocletian, reign of, 16 
Do-Nothing Kings, 95 
Doctor's degree, 223 
Dokhum, death of vSt. Boniface 

at, 134 
Domesday Book, 178 
Dominicans, 218, 220, 232 
Dominicum, 113 
Domitian, 13, 33, 50 
Domremy, 258 
Dorylaeum, victory of, 206 
Druids, 55, 90 
Drusus, 28, 50 
Ducal power weakened bv Otto, 

143 
Dues from tenant, 113 
Dukes (duces), 44 
Dunbar, battle of, 274 
Duns Scotus, 225 
Dushan, Stephen, 314 
Dyarchy, 43 

East Angha, 86 

Easter, celebration of, 88 

Eastern Empire, 61; weakness of, 

123 
Ecclesiastical organization, 26 
Edessa, principaHty of, 206; re- 
taken, 208 
Edict of Milan, 18, 19 



References are to sections 



INDEX 



XV: 



Education, Alfred the Great and 
175 ; and art under Charlemagne 
116; and the Roman State, 71 

Edward I of England, 270 

Edward II, 276, 277, 278 

Edward III, 248, 250, 279, 282 

Edward, the Black Prince, 252 

Edward the Confessor, 177 

Egbert, 173 

Eginhard or Einhard, 116 

Eighth Crusade, 214 

Eleanor of Aquitaine, 166, 180 

Election of bishops, 26 

Electors, College of seven, 302 

Empire, auction of, 40; renewal of, 
144 

England, name of, 86 

Equality, doctrine of Christ, 6 

Equestrian class, 65 

Era of the Martyrs, 16 

Essex, 86 

Ethelbert, King, 87 

Ethelred the Unready, 176 

Ethelwulf, 174 

Euphrates, 36, 46 

Europe attacked by Mohamme- 
dans, 122 

Evesham, battle of, 197 

Exarchate, 83 

Exeter Cathedral, 228 

Fable, Arab fondness for, 126 
Faith, nature of , 235 
Falkirk, battle of, 275 
Family life in Rome, 74 
Fatalism of Islam, 120 
Ferdinand of Aragon, 269, 297, 

298 
Ferdusi, 126 

Ferrara-Florence, council of, 317 
Feudal Lords, power reduced, 217 
Feudalism, 139, 198, 273 
Fifth Crusade, 211 
Fines, 109 

First Crusade, leaders of, 205 
Flanders, Counts of, 247 
Flavian Emperors, 27 
Florence, 306, 307 
Fondi, Papal election at, 243 
Forest Cantons, 304 
Forum, 74; of Trajan, 35 
Fourth Crusade, 210 
Fra Angelico, 335 
France and Burgundy, 265 

RcfcrMiccs at 



France, Scots alliance with, 274 
Francia, Germanic, 95; Roman, 95 
Franciscans, 218, 232 
Franconian Emperors, 147 
Prankish state, 95, 96; adminis- 
tration of, 108; division of, 138 
Franks, 50, 61, 91, 110 
Frederic I Barharossa,158, 159, loi 
Frederic II, 163, 164, 212, 231 
Free Companies, 253, 307 
Friars Minor, 219 
Frisia, Mission to, 134 
Frontiers of Roman Empire, 49 

Gaels, 89 

Galba, 30 

Galerius, 16, 43 

Galileans, 23 

Garigliano River, 100 

Genseric, 61 

Geographical Science in Italy, 321 

German kings, crowns of, 144 

Germanic element in empire of 
Charlemagne, 136 ^^ 

Germanicus, 29, 50 

Germans and individual inde- 
pendence, 78; retire before 
Huns, 59 

Germany, conditions in, 299: 
Interregnum in, 299; Saxons 
in. 102 

Giotto, 335 

Goa, 323 

Godfrey of Bouillon, 205, 206 

Golden Bull, 302 

Golden Milestone, 4 

Good Parliament, 282 

Gospel preaching of, 7, 87 

Gothic art, 226 

Goths, wars against, 52 

Grammar schools, 70 

Grammarian, 69, 70 

Granada, 295, 297 

Gratian, 24 

Great Charter, 192 

Greece, influence of, 78 

Greek language universal, 4 

Greek, language of eastern em- 
pire, 82 

Greenland, 140 

Gregorian chant, 130 

Gregorv, Bishop of Tours, 115 

Guelfs'and Ghibcllincs, meanini: 
of, 157 



336 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



Guilds, growth of, 303 
Gunpowder, Invention of, 319 
Gutenberg, John, 320 

Hadrian, 36; Wall of, 56 

Haiti, 326 

Hanseatic League, 303 

Hapsburg.familyof , 301 ;policy,300 

Harold, son of Godwin, 177 

Hastings, battle of, 177 

Hattin, battle of, 209 

Hegira, 118 

Hellenistic culture, 125 

Hengist and Horsa, 85 

Henrv H of England, 167, 180; 
and Thomas Becket, 181, 183, 
184; death of, 187; in Ireland, 
186; revokes Constitutions of 
Clarendon, 184; III, 171, 195, 
197; IV, 286; V, 256, 288; VI, 
288; VII, 290, 293 

Henry I, of Germanv, 142 ; II, 146 ; 
IV, 151, 152, 153, 154, 156; V, 
156; VI, 162, 163; VII, 301 

Henry Plantagenet, 166 

Henry the Lion, 161 

Henry the Navigator, 322 

Heptarchy, 86 

Herculaneum and Pompeii, 32 

Heresy, nature of, 229 

Heretics, burning of, 231, 287 

Heristals, 96 

HeruH, 63 

Hildebrand, 150 

Hispaniola, 326 

History, definition of, 1 ; division 
of, 2 ; periods and epochs of, 3 

Hohenstaufen Emperors, 157, 162, 
164 

Holidays, number of public, 72 

Holy League, 269 

Holy War, 121 

Homage of vassal, 148 

Honoria, 62 

Honorius, 48, 57, 85 

House of Anjou in Sicily, 311 

House of Commons, 195, 197 

House of Valois, 247 

House of Wittelsbach, 161 

Hugh Capet, 141, 165 

Humanists, 329 

Hundred Years' War, end of, 
264; name and causes of, 247; 
periods of, 248 



Hungarians, 140, 144 
Huns, 59, 60, 62 
Hunyadi, John, 318 

Iceland, 140 

Illyricum, 63 

Incunabula, 320 

Innocent III condemns ordeals, 
111 

Inns in Rome, 68 

Inquisition, and torture, 233; 
origin of, 229 

Inquisitorial Tribunal, 230 

Inquisitors, character of, 232 

Intolerance, Protestant churches 
and religious, 235 

Investiture Contest, 147, 149, 
156 

Ireland and her inhabitants, 89; 
before Henry II, 185; and 
Henry II, 186; invaded by 
Danes, 185; laws of, 292; Tudor 
policy in, 293 

Iron Gate, 52 

Isabella of England, Queen, 278 

Islam, doctrines of, 120; meaning 
of, 117; rapid spread of, 123 

Istria, 81 

Italian, communes, 157; expedi- 
tions, 145; States, leading, 306; 

Italy, at time of Otto the Great, 
144; conditions in, 299; war in, 
100 

Jamaica discovered, 327 

Janissaries, 315 

Jerusalem, captured (1099), 206; 
captured by Saladin (1187), 187; 
conversion of, 7 ; destruction of, 
54; fall of (1070), 201; fall of 
(1187), 209; Siege of , 54 

Jesus Christ, birth of, 5; hidden 
life of, 5; public life of, 5 

Jews, a scattered nation, 54 

Jews, and Lombards, money lend- 
ers, 172; in rebellion, 49; in 
Roman Empire, 4; insurrection 
of, 54; war against the, 54 

Joan of Arc, 248 ; Beatification of, 
263; captured at Compiegne, 
261; condemned, 262; enters 
Orleans, 259; execution of, 
263; trial of, 262 

John, King, prisoner, 253 



References are to sections 



INDEX 



.U7 



John Lackland, 167; character of, 
189; quarrel with Philip II, 167, 
168, 190; quarrel with the 
Church; with the Barons, 191. 
192 

John of Briennc, 2 1 1 

John of Gaunt, 282 

John of Luxemburg, 250 

Judea under Nero, 54 

Judgment of God, 111 

Jugo-Slavs, 314 

Julian Dynasty, 28 

Julian Emperors, 27 

Julian the Apostate, 22, 23, 24 

Julius Caesar, 9, 27, 55 

Justice administered by king, 
count or lord, 1 1 1 

Justinian I the Great, 81, 82 

Jutes, 85 

Kaaba, 117 
Kent, 86 

Kilkenny, Statute of, 292 
Kilpatrick, 90 
King's Council, 179 
Knighthood, 198, 199 
Knights Hospitallers, 207; Tem- 
plars, 207 
Koran, 120, 126 
Kossovo, 316 
Kublai, 321 
Kunigunde, 146 

La Rabida, Friary of, 325 
Labarum, Roman standard, 17 
Lancaster, House of, 286 
Land, distribution of, 113 
Land Tax of the Franks, 109 
Landowners, 114 
Las Navas de Tolosa, battle of, 

295 
Lateran, council of, 156 
Latin used in schools, 116 
Law of Majesty, abolished, 31; 

nature of, 33 
Law, tribal not territorial, 112 
League, Hanseatic, 303; of Cam- 
brai, 269; of the Public Weal, 
267; Perpetual, 304 
Leagues, growth of City, 303 
Legacies, Church's right to re- 
ceive, 20 
Legates, 1 1 
Legnano, battle of, 160 



Leon and Castile united, 296 

Leonardo da V'inci, 336 

Lewes, battle of, 197 

Lewis IV, the Bavarian, 301 

Licentiate, 223 

Licinius, 18, 20 

Lisbon, 295 

Literator, schoolmaster ,69 

Llewellyn, Prince, 271 

Lollards, 283; imrnt at the stake. 
287 

Lombard Kings, 98; League, 160 

Lombardy, name of, 84 

Lords, House of, 272, 282 

Lorraine, name of, 138 

Lothair, 137 

Lothair III, 157 

Louis VII, 166 

Louis VIII, 170, 194 

Louis IX, St., 164; and the Sev- 
enth Crusade, 213; foreign 
policy of, 171; home policv of, 
172 

Louis XI, 266, 267, 268 

Louis XII claims Milan, 269 

Louis the Child, 141 

Louis the German, 137 

Louis the Pious, 137 

Love of God and neighbor, 6 

Luxemburg, family of, and the 
German throne, 301 

Lyons, First Council of, 164 

Macedonia, vSt. Paul in, 8 

Mad Parliament, 196 

Madeira, discovery of, M2 

Maecenas, 10 

Magellan, Ferdinand, 328 

Magna Carta, 192, 193, 272 

Maid of Norway, 273 

Maid of Orleans, 258 

Malcolm II, 178 

Manicheans, 231 

March, 101, 103, 108 

Marco Polo, 321 

Marcomans, 51 

Marcus Aurelius, 13, 3>S, 51 

Marignano, battle of, 2869 

Marne, battle at ChAlons on, 62 

Marriage, clerical, 149, 152 , 

Martyrs, 73 

Matilda, Countess, 153 

Mauretania, 29 

Maxentius, 17 



Rrfcrcines arc to scctiottj 



338 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



Maximian, 43 

Maximilian I, 269 

Maximin the Thracian, 13 

Mayors of the palace, 96, 108 

Mecca, 117, 118, 124 

Medici, 307 

Medieval world, characteristics of, 
236 

Medina, 118 

Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, 
38 

Mendicant Orders, 218, 220 

Mercia, 86 

Meroveus, 91 

Merovingian period ; ignorance 
during, 115 

Merovingians, 91 

Michelangelo, 336 

Middle Ages, Christian spirit in 
the, 135 

Milan, 306; Alemanni defeated 
at, 50; and Venice, struggle 
between, 309; capital of the 
west, 43; Cathedral, 228; 
claimed by Louis XII, 268; 
destroyed, 160; Henry IV ap- 
points Archbishop, 152 

Milesians, 89 

Military organization in Eng- 
land and France, 249 

Military religious orders, 207 

Military service among the 
Franks, 110 

Milvian Bridge, battle of, 17, 45 

Missi dominici, 108, 110 

Model Parliament, 272 

Modern Age, characteristics of, 
236 

Moesia, 52, 80 

Mohammed, 117, 118, 119 

Mohammed II, 317 

Mohammedan conquests, 121; do- 
minions, disruption of, 124; era, 
118 

Mohammedans advance into Eu- 
rope, 122; destroy Visigothic 
kingdom, 60 

Mohammedans, number of, 117 

Mona or Anglesey, 55 

Monasticism, meaning of, 131 

Monks, missionary labors of 
Irish, 133 

Monks originally laymen, 132 

Monte Cassino, 132, 155 



Monza, 144 

Morals in Rome, 75 

Morgarten, battle of, 305 

Mozarabs, 294 

Munich, diocese of, 134 

Murad I, 316 

Music, Reform of Church, 130 

Nancy, Death of Charles the Bold 
at, 267 

Naples and Sicily, 311; conquest of 
kingdom of, 268; kingdom of, 
306 

Narses, 81, 83 

National unity and the Crusades, 
217 

Nations, all united, 4 

Naval battles, 73 

Navarre, 101,296 

Navigation benefited by the Cru- 
sades, 216 

Nero, 8, 13, 14, 30 

Nerva, 34 

Netherlands, Saxons in, 102 

Neustria, 95 

Nevill's Cross, battle of, 251, 280 

Nice, council of, 21; siege of, 206 

Nicomedia, 16, 43 

Nicopolis, battle of, 316 

Nogaret, William of, 239 

Noricum, 80 

Norman Dynasty, 177 

Normandy^ 140 

Normans, 140, 155 

Northumbria, 86 

Novara, battle of, 269 

Nursia, 132 

Obediences during the Great 

Schism, 244 
Octavia murdered, 30 
Octavius, Emperor, 9 
Odoacer, 63; kingdom of, 80 
Orchan, 315 
Ordeals, condemned by Innocent 

III, HI: recourse to. 111 
Orestes, 63 

Organization of the Church, 26 
Origen, sufferings of, 15 
Orleans, deliverance of, 259; siege 

of, 257 
Orosius, 13 
Osmanli, 315 
Ostrogoths, 80 



References arc to scctiu)is 



IN'DKX 



XV) 



Oswy, King of Northumhria, 88 

Othman,315 

Otranto, Turks land at, 318 

Otto the Great, 140, 142, 143, 146 

Otto II, 146; III, 146 

Ottomans, 315 

Pachomius, 131 

Pacific Ocean, 328 

Pagan religion restored by Julian, 

22 
Pagan world, conditions of, 6 
Paganism, official religion, 22; 

origin of word, 24 
Palatine, conflagration of, 14; resi- 
dence of Augustus, 9 
Pale, The, 291 
Palladitis, 90 
Palmyra, 42 
Palos, harbor of, 326 
Pannonia, 42, 80 
Papacy and Empire, 105; and 

Frederic II, 164 
Papal power at its height, 135 
Papal States, 98, 100, 306, 312 
Paper, first use of, 320; origin 

of, 127 
Papinian, 40, 41 

Parents and education of chil- 
dren, 71 
Paris, university of, 221 
Parliament, Good, 282; Mad, 196; 

Model, 272; name of, 195 
Parthians, wars against, 53 
Passau, diocese of, 134 
Patay, battle of, 260 
Patriarchs appointed, four, 26 
Patrimony of St. Peter, 100; ruler 

of, 159 
Paul the Deacon, 116 
Paulus, 40 
Pavia,84,9;8 

Peace of, Constance, 160; God, 
200; Venice, 160; Wedmore, 1/4 
Peasants, 114 

Peasants' uprismg (1381), 284 
Peniscola, 246 
Perez, John, 325 
Perkin'Warbeck, 290 
Perpetual edict, 36, 76 
Perpetual League, 304 
Persecution, of Christians, second, 
33; under Dccius, 15; under 
Diocletian, 16; under Nero, 14 



Persecutifjns, character of two 

periods of, 13; list of ten, 13 
Persians al)Sorb Parthian king- 
dom, 53 
Person of emperor sacred, 47 
Peter Lombard, 225 
Peter the Hermit, 205 
Petrarch, 330, 331 
Philip II Augustus, 165, 167 
Philip IV the Fair, 237; and Boni- 
face VIII, 238; death of, 247 
Philip VI, 248, 252 
Philippines disc-overcd, 32^ 
Picts and Scots, 85 
Piers Gavcston, 276, 277 
Pilgrimages to the Holy Land, 

201 
Pillage by armies, how caused, 1 10 
Pippin of Hcristal, 96 
Pippin of Landen, 96 
Pippin, son of Louis, the Pious, 

137 
Pippin the Short, 97, 98, 99. 129; 
suppressed the office of mayor, 
108 
Pisa, council of, 245 
Plantations, system of, 102 
Plebeian order, 66 
Pointed architecture, 227 
Poitiers, battle of, (1356). 252 
Political changes wrought by the 

Crusades, 217 
Pontius Pilate, 5 
Poor Clares, 219 
Poor Priests, 283 
Popes, Adrian I, 100; Adrian I\ . 
186; crowns Frederic Barbar- 
ossa 159; death of. 160; Alex- 
ander III, 160; and Thomas 
Becket, 183; Alexander V. 24.^; 
Benedict XIII, 246; Boniface 
VIII 237; Celcstine I. 90; Clem- 
ent V, 240; Clement VII elec- 
tion of, 243; Eugene III. 166: 
Fabian, martvred. 15; Gregory 
I 87, 88, 129. 130; (^.regory II 
commissions St. Bonifac-i- 134: 
Gregory VII, 150. 151. 152. 153: 

Gregor'v IX. 164, and the In- 

quisiti<;n, iM: ^''■vr;'">;, '^' 

returns to Rome 241: (.reg- 
orv XII, 246; Hononus III. 
220; Innocent HL ^^^^^ ^;^•'■Vf>■• 
979■ ami John Lacklan<l. I'M. 



HcfcroH-cs are to sections ^ 



340 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



194; Innocent IV and the 
seventh crusade, 213; John 
XII, 144; John XIII, 144; 
John XXIII, 246; Leo I, 62, 
129; Leo III taken prisoner, 
104; Martin V, 246; Nicholas V, 
330, 334; Paschal II, 156; Pius 
II, 334; Stephen II, 98; Urban 
II, 202; Urban VI, 242; treat- 
ment of the Cardinals by, 243; 
Zacharias, 97 

Popes and the Spanish Inquisition, 
234; origin of temporal power 
of, 129; twofold power of, 128 

Portiuncula, 219 

Porto Rico discovered, 327 

Portugal, kingdom of, 295 

Portuguese discoveries, 322, 323 

Poynings Act, 293 

Prague, first German university 
at, 302 

Preaching among pagans, 22; of 
Apostles, 7 

Pretorian Guards auctioned the 
empire, 40 

Prince, Henry the Navigator, 322; 
of Wales, title of, 271 

Printing press. Invention of, 320 

Proconsuls, oppression by, 11 

Proctors, 223 

Prosperity increased by the Cru- 
sades, 217 

Protestant churches and religious 
intolerance, 235 

Province of Africa, persecution in, 
15 

Provisions of Oxford, 195, 196 

Ptolemy, astronomer, 125 

Public Weal, League of the, 267 

Quadi, 51 
Quintilian, 31 

Raetia, 80 

Rainald of Dassel, 160 
Ramadan, month of fasting, 118 
Raphael, 336 
Ratisbon, diocese of, 134 
Ravenna, 81, 98 
Ravenna, battle of, 269 
Rector of a university, 223 
Redeemer expected, 4 
Religion in Rome before Chris- 
tianity, 12 



Religious, indifference and the 
Crusades, 216, orders, military, 
207; policy of Constantine the 
Great, 19 

Renaissance, excesses of, 337; 
meaning of, 329; results of, 337 

Republic of Venice, 308 

Republican period, 74 

Revenues of Royal Treasury, 109 

Rheims Cathedral, 228; Charles 
VII coronation at, 260 

Rhetorician, 69, 70 

Richard II, 283, 285, 286 

Richard the Lion-Hearted, 167, 
188 

Rienzi, Cola di, 312 

Ripuarian Franks, 91 

Robert Guiscard, 155 

Robert of Artois, 213 

Rodrigo Diaz, 295 

Roger Bacon, 225 

Roger Mortimer, 279 

Roland, Count of Brittany, 101 

Rollo, 140 

Roman, architecture, 76; citizen- 
ship under Claudius, 29; Em- 
pire, boundaries of, 11; Empire 
divided by Diocletian, 43; Em- 
pire, Holy, 105; Empire threat- 
ened, 49; frontiers attacked, 49; 
law, 76; peace, 11, 34; religion 
and morality, 12; Republic, 
312; roads, 4; school-day, 69; 
State and Education, 71; vir- 
tues, 12 ; workday, how spent, 68 

Romance languages, 79 

Romanesque churches, 227 

Romans, lawmakers, 78 

Rome, appeal to Bishop of, 128 
Bishop of, 26, 128; burning of, 
14; captured by Alaric, 60; city 
of beggars, 74; pillaged by Van- 
dals, 61; provincial deities in, 
12; St. Paul at, 8; siege of, 98 
under Augustus, 10 

Romulus Augustulus, 63 

Roncaglia, diet of, 159 

Roncesvalles, 101 

Rouen besieged, 167 

Royal authority, weakness of, 
139 

Royal Council in France, 172 

Royal houses in France, 265 



References arc to sections 



IXDI-X 



341 



Royal authority, absolute and 

hereditary under Franks, 106 
Rudolf of Hapsburg, 300 
Rudolph of Sual)ia elected, 154 
Rumania, and Translyvania, 52; 

name of, 52 
Runnymede, 192 
Russia, foundation of modern, 140 

Saints, Agatha, 15; Ambrose and 
Theodosius, 25; Anselm, 179, 
225; Basil, rule of, 131; Bene- 
diet and monastic Hfe in the 
west, 132; Bernard, 208; Bona- 
venture, 220, 225; Boniface, 97, 
134; Brigid, 90; Catherine of 
Siena, 243; Clare of Assisi, 219; 
Columban, 133; Dominie, life 
and rule of, 220; Francis of 
Assisi, life and rule of, 219; 
Gall, 133; John at Patmos, 33; 
John Capistran, 318; Louis IX, 
164, 170; and Henry III, 197; 
death of, 214; Patrick, 90; 
Paul, 8; beheaded, 14; Peter, 8; 
crucified, 14; supreme head 
of Church, 128; Pionius, 15; 
Thomas Aquinas, 220, 225 

Saladin, 209; captures Jerusalem, 
187; 

Salerno, 155 

Salian Emperors, 147; Franks, 91 

Salic Law, 247 

Salisbury Catheral, 228 

Salona, 45 

Salzburg, diocese of, 134 

San Salvador, discovery of, 326 

Sant'Angelo, castle of, 36 

Saracens, 101, 140; defeated at 
Damietta, 213 

Saxon dynasty, in Germany, 142 
last kings of, 146 

Saxons, city life and cavalry ser- 
vice among, 142; rebellion of, 
85; war against, 102 

Saxony becomes Frankish and 
Christian, 102 

Scandinavia, land of the Normans, 
140 

Schism of the West, The great. 242 

Scholasticism, 225 

School-day in Rome, 69 

Schoolmen, Gabriel Biel, last of, 
225; names of principal, 225 



Schwarz, Bert Ik iM. 319 

vSehwyz, 304 

Scone, 273 

Scotia, 89 

Scotland, contiucst of, 274; re- 
duced by Agricola, 33 

SctUs, alliance witli Franco, 274 

Scriptures, burning of, 16 

Second Crusade, 208 

Sejanus, bad influence of, 28 

Seljukian Turks, 201, 313 

vSelling of slaves forbiddt-n, 67 

Sempach, battle of, 305 

Senate, 9; greeting of, 35 

Senatorial order, 64 

Seneca, philosopher, 30 

Senlac or Hastings, 177 

Sentences, work by Peter Ix>m- 
bard, 225 

Septimius Scverus, 13, 27, 40; 
death of, 40; in Britain, 56 

Serapis, temple of, destroyed, 24 

Serbians, 314 

Serfdom suj)plants slavery, 67 

Serfs, colons, or slaves, 114 

Servant of the Servants of God, 
130 

Service: military, among the 
Franks, 110 

vSeventh Crusade, 213 

Sforza and Visconti, 310 

Shamrock, 90 

Sicilian Vespers, 3 1 1 

wSicily, and Frederic II, 163; em- 
pire in, 140 

Sigismund, 246 

Simon of Alontfort and the Albi- 
genses, 169 

Simon of Montfort, Earl of Lei- 
cester, 197 

Simony, 149, 152 

Sirmium, 43 

Sixth crusade, 212 

Slavery, 67 

Slaves, colons or serfs, 114 

Slavs, 59; and Avars. 99, 103; and 
Hungarians, 140, 147, divisions 
of. 314; westward moyement of. 
79 

Sluys, naval battle of, 250 

Social changes wrought by the 
Crusades, 217 

Soldiers, employment in times of 
peace, 77 



References are to sections 



342 



THE CHRISTIAN ERA 



Solitaries, 131 

Song of Roland, 101 

vSouth America discovered, 327 

South Britain, 29 

Spain, 61; kingdom of, 298; re- 
conquest of, 295; Visigoths in, 
60; war in, 101 

Spanish Inquisition, 234; March, 
101; National Unity, 296 

State endowed charity, 35 

States Genera], the first, 238 

States of the Church, 98 

Statute, decreeing burning of here- 
tics, 287; of Kilkenny, 292; of 
Laborers, 281 

Stephen Langton, 191, 193, 194 

Stilicho, 57 

Stirling, capitulation of, 277 

Strasburg, Oath of, 139 

Students at the university of 
Paris, 224 

Suabian Emperors, 157 

Succession to the Roman Empire, 
27 

Sueves, 61 

Sunday, a public festival, 19 

vSunnat, 120 

Supreme Pontiff, title laid aside 
by Gratian, 24 

Sussex, 86 

Sweyn, king of Denmark, 176 

Swiss Confederation, 305; Inde- 
pendence, beginning of, 304 

Switzerland, evangelized by Irish 
missionaries, 133; and France 



invaded by the 
Syagrius, 92 
Synod of Whitley, 



Alemanni, 50 
88 



Tamerlane, 317 

Tara, 89 

Tarsus, 8 

Taxation; heavy under Diocle- 
tian, 44 

Teach the classics, Christians for- 
bidden to, 23 

Teacher, social position of, 70 

Templars, Knights, 207 

Temple of Jerusalem destroyed, 
31, 54 

Tenants, obligations of, 113 

Tertry battle of, 96 

Teutoberg Forest, 50 



Teutonic Knights, 207 
Thanet, Island of, 87 
Theodelinde, 84 

Theodore, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 88 
Theoderic, 95 

Theodoric the Great, 80, 81 
Theodosius I, the Great, 24; mas- 
sacre ordered by, 25; penance 
of, 25; assigns homes to Visi- 
goths in Thrace, 60 
Thessalonica (Saloniki), 25 
Third Crusade, leaders of, 209 
Third Order, 218, 219, 220 
Thomas Becket, 180, 181, 183 
Thomas of Lancaster, 276, 278 
Thrace, 29 

Thuringia and robber barons, 300 
Thuringians, war against, 95 
Tiberius, Emperor, 5, 28 
Timour or Tamerlane, 317 
Titus, 31, 32, 54 
Tolbiac, 92 

Tolerance granted to the Chris- 
tians, 16, 18 
Torture, origin of, 233 
Totila, king of Goths, 81 
Tours, battle of, 96, 122 
Towt(6n, battle of, 289 
Trajan, 35; campaigns of, 35, 52; 
public works of, 35; rampart of, 
50 
Transylvania, 60 
Triumph of Christianity, 20 
Trivium and Quadrivium, 116 
Troyes, treaty of, 256 
Truce of God, 200 
Tudors, dynasty of the, 286, 290 
Turk, a danger to Europe, 215 
Turks, and Huns, 59 ; Mongol, 122 ; 
Seljukian, 313; take Constan- 
tinople, 48 



Ulpian, 40; 

Union of tribes byClovis, 94 

Universal empire, ambition of 
German kings, 146 

Universities, charters of, 222 ; defi- 
nition of, division of, 221 

University degrees, 223 

Unterwalden, 304 

Urban VI, recognition of, 242 

Uri, 304 



t 



References are to sectio)is 



iNi)i;x 



M.^ 



Valens, 60 

Valentinian II fc)rl)i(ls licathcn 
worship, 24 

Valentinian III, 62 

Valerian, 13 

Valois, House of, 247 

Vandals, 61; lose Africa, 81 

Varus entrapped by Arminius, 50 

Vasco da Gama, 323 

Vassals, 148 

Vatican Library, 334; jjalace 
looted, 242 

Vaucouleurs, 258 

Venetian Republic, 309 

Venice, 306; Peace of, 160; Repub- 
lic of, 308 

Verdun, Treaty of, 138 

Vernacular, use of, 136 

Verona, council of, 229 

Vespasian, 31, 54 

Vestal virgins deprived of privi- 
leges, 24 

Vesuvius, first known eruption of, 
32 

Vicars, 44 

Victims of Inquisition, number 
of, 234 

Victor IV, 160 

Vienna, 51 

Vikings, 140 

Visconti and Sforza, 310 

Visigothic kingdom destroyed, 294 

Visigoths, Clovis' victory over, 93 ; 
threatened by Huns, 60; wars 
with, 61 

Voluptuousness and cruelty in 
Rome, 75 

Vortigern, 85 

Voting, system of, changed, 246 

Wales, 86; conquest of, 270 
Wall, from Tyne to Solway, 56; 
of Hadrian, 36 

References c 



Wallace, William, 275 

Walter the Penniless, 205 

Wars, defensive, waged by Ro- 
mans, 49; of the Roses, History 
of, origin of, 288, 289; on the 
Lower Danube, 52; on the 
Rhine, 50; on the Upper Dan- 
ube, 51 

Warwick, Earl of, 289 

Wat Tyler, 284 

Wedmore, Peace of, 174 

Wergeld, or composilicjn, 10'^ 
112 

Wessex, 86 

Western Empire ceased to exist, 63 

Whitby, synod of, 88 

Wicklow, 90 

Wiclif, John, and religious un- 
rest, 283 

Widukind, 102 

William, Duke of Xorniandv, 
177 

William Tell, 304 

William the Lion captured, 184 

Winfrid, Apostle of Germany (sec 
Boniface), 133 

Wittelsbach, House of, 161 

Workday of a Roman, 68 

World, conditions of pagan, 6 

Worms, 61; Concordat of, 156 



Xcres de la Frontera, victorv f)f, 

122 
Ximenes, Cardinal, 2*^8 

York. House of, 286 



Zara taken, 210 
Zealots in Jerusalem, 54 
Zeno, Emperor, 80 
Zenobia, 42 

• to scclioiis 



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